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ANCIENT HISTORY 



FOB 



COLLEGES AND SCHOOLS. 



BY 



JOHN LORD, LL. D. 

AUTHOR OF THE " OLD ROMAN WORLD," "MODERN HISTORY," ETC. 



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BOSTON: 
LOCKWOOD, BROOKS, AND COMPANY. 

1877. 




Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, by 

JOHN LORD, LL. D., 
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



I3 5*=i 



PREFACE. 



This work is a revised edition of " Ancient States and Em- 
pires," which was found to be too large for the use of schools. 
About ninety pages have been omitted, which did not have a 
direct bearing on the progress of the human race ; and other 
pages have been added, to make the book more simple. The 
mistakes and typographical errors of the old edition have been 
carefully corrected. 

It has been the aim of the author to condense the leading 
events of the ancient world, without destroying the interest of 
the narrative ; and hence the salient points in the history of 
four thousand years alone are presented. Allusion, however, 
is made to every prominent man in the Oriental, Greek, and 
Roman states, whose opinions or whose deeds have modified 
or changed the current of human events. Reference to au- 
thorities has been thought unnecessary, since the work is 
nothing but a compilation from the great standard authorities, 
especially Rawlinson, Grote, Thii'lwall, Niebuhr, Mommsen, 
and Merivale. The author has attempted nothing new but in 
arrangement of subjects, and aimed at nothing higher than 
lucidity of statement, avoiding technicalities, hard words, mi- 
nute details, and unimportant names. 
Stamford, September, 1875. 



CONTENTS. 



BOOK I. 

THE ANCIENT OKIENTAE NATIONS. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE ANTEDILUVIAN WORLD. 



PA6B 



Creation — The Garden of Eden — Fall of Adam — Cain and Abel — 
The Deluge — Its Traditions 13 

CHAPTER II. 

POSTDILUVIAN HISTORY TO THE CALL OF ABRAHAM. 

Noah and his Sons — The Tower of Babel — Dispersion of the Descendants 
of Noah — Patriarchal Constitution 19 

CHAPTER III. 

EGYPT AND THE PHARAOHS. 

Geography of Ancient Egypt — "Wonders — Dynasties — Rameses II.— 
Thebes — Religion and Manners of the Old Egyptians . . . .24 

CHAPTER IV. 

THE JEWISH COMMONWEALTH. 

Moses and his Laws — Joshua — Jewish Conquests — Judges — Samuel — 
Saul .33 



vi Contents, 



CHAPTER V. 

THE JEWISH MONARCHY. 

David — Solomon — Jerusalem — The Rebellion of the Ten Tribes — The 
Princes of the House of David — The Princes who reigned at Samaria — 
The Jewish Captivity '45 

CHAPTER VI. 

THE OLD CHALDEAN AND ASSYRIAN MONARCHIES. 

Nineveh — Assyrian Kings — The Chaldeans — Babylon . . . .51 

CHAPTER VII. 

THE EMPIRE OF THE MEDES AND PERSIANS. 

Media — Median Princes — Lydian Monarchs — The Persians — Zoroaster 
— Cyrus — Cambyses — Xerxes — Fall of the Monarchy . . .59 

CHAPTER VIII. 

THE RULE OF THE HIGH PRIESTS, AND OF THE ASMONEAN AND IDUMEAN 

KINGS. 

Return of the Jews — Esther — Rebuilding of Jerusalem — Alexandria — 
The High Priests — The Asmonean Princes — Herod and the Idumean 
Eoags . .71 



BOOK II. 
THE GRECIAN STATES. 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE GEOGRAPHY OF ANCIENT GREECE, AND ITS EARLY INHABITANTS. 

Mountains — Rivers — National Productions — States — Cities — Early In- 
habitants — Early Legends 85 



Contents. vii 

CHAPTER X. 

THE GRECIAN STATES AND COLONIES TO THE PERSIAN WARS. 

Lycurgus and Sparta — The Helots — Constitution of Sparta — Messenia — 
Corinth — Megara — Athens — Solon — His Legislation — Pisistratus — 
Bceotia — Phocis — Epirus — Ionian Cities 93 

CHAPTER XI. 

GRECIAN CIVILIZATION BEFORE THE PERSIAN WARS. 

Legislature — Amphyctjonic Council — Delphic Oracle — Olympian Games 
— Pythian Games — Nemean and Isthmian Games — Temples — Politi- 
cal Rights — Commerce — Art 110 

CHAPTER XII. 

THE PERSIAN WAR. 

Revolt of Ionian Cities — Their Conquest by the Persians — Darius — In- 
vasion of Greece — Miltiades — Themistocles — Aristides — Marathon — 
Xerxes — His Enormous Army — Thermopylae — Leonidas — Salamis — 
Effects of the Battle — Mardouius — Battle of Plataea — Battle of My- 
cale — Rivalry between Athens and Sparta 119 

CHAPTER XIII. 

THE AGE OF PERICLES. ' 

Rivalry between Athens and Sparta — Confederacy of Delos — Sparta — 
Rebellion of Helots — Cimon — Pericles — The Piraeus — The Long 
Walls of Athens — Aggrandizement of Athens — Democratic Power — 
Improvements of Athens — Literature and Art 147 

CHAPTER XIV. 

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR. 

The Causes of the "War — Influence of Pericles — Warlike Preparations — 
Invasion of Attica — The various Campaigns — Plague of Athens — 
Athens solicits Aid from Persia — Revolt of Mitylene— ISTicias — Alci- 
biades — Cleon — Attack of Megara — Battle of Delium — Brasidas — 
Loss of Amphipolis — Peace of Nicias — Battle of Mantinsea — Invasion 
of Sicily — Syracuse — Gelo — Mismanagement of Nicias — Treason of 
Alcibiades—Lysander — Capture of the Athenian Fleet— Annihilation 
of Athenian Power — Triumph of Sparta — Consequences of the War . 166 



viii Contents. 

CHAPTER XV. 

MARCH OF CYRUS AND RETREAT OF THE TEN THOUSAND GREEKS. 

Cyrus — Xenophon — Cyrus in Asia — Battle of Cunaxa — Retreat of the 
Greeks — Their Hardships and Success — Moral Effect of the Retreat . 210 

CHAPTER XVI. 

THE LACEDEMONIAN EMPIRE. 

Great Power of Sparta — Jealousy of Greece — Tyranny of Sparta — Ages- 
ilaus — Alienation of Allies — Conspiracies against Sparta — Revolt of 
Thebes — Battle of Coronsea — Decline of Sparta 220 

CHAPTER XVII. 

THE REPUBLIC OF THEBES. 

f hebes — Revolt from Sparta — Alliance with Athens — Epaminondas — 
Pelopidas — Attack on Thebes — Humiliation of Sparta — The Invasion 
by Epaminondas — Dismemberment of Sparta — Theban Supremacy — 
Fate of Orchomeu us — Battle of Mantinsea — Philip of Macedon . . 231 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

DIONYSIUS AND SICILY. 

Carthaginian War — Dionysius — His Great Successes — Hirailco — Inva- 
sion of Italy — Fate of Croton — Dion — Dionysius II. —Plato in Sicily 
— Dion Master of Syracuse — Tim oleon — His Noble Character . . 249 

CHAPTER XIX. 

PHILIP OF MACEDON. 

Philip and Thebes — His Duplicity and Ambition — Social War — Demos- 
thenes — Phocion — Conquest of Thessaly — Encroachments on Grecian 
Liberties — Siege of Perinthus — Alliance of Thebes and Athens — 
Fall of Thebes — Humiliation of Athens 272 

CHAPTER XX. 

ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 

The Persian Empire — Alexander — Conquest of Greece — Alexander in 
As-ia— Battle of the Granicus — Conquest of Asia Minor — Battle of 
Issus — Siege of Tyre — Founding of Alexandria — Darius — Battle of 
Arbela— Conquest of Persia — Death of Clitus — Invasion of India — 
Hephsestion and his Funeral — Death of Alexander — Effects of his 
Conquests ^°^ 



Contents, 

BOOK III. 
THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 



IX 



CHAPTER XXI. 

THE INFANCY OF KOME. 

Foundation of Rome — Romulus — Numa — Successive Kings — Early 
Struggles of Plebeians — The Servian Constitution — Expulsion of the 
Kings — Early Civilization of Rome 314 

CHAPTER XXII. 

THE ROMAN REPUBLIC TO THE INVASION OF THE GAULS. 

Legends of Early Rome — The Heroic Age — Conflict between Patricians 
and Plebeians — Change in the Constitution — Republican Laws — Cin-v 
cinnatus — The Decemvirs — Siege of Veil — The Gauls — Sack of 
Rome 326 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

THE CONQUEST OF ITALY. 

The Samnite War — Subjection of Latium — Tarentum — Pyrrhus — Sub- 
jection of Italy 338 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

THE FIRST PUNIC WAR. 

Causes of the \Yar — Sicily — Hiero — Carthage — Creation of a Roman 
Fleet — Battle of Mylae — Regulus — Hamilcar — Hasdrubal — Acquisi- 
tion of Sicily 345 

CHAPTER XXV. 

THE SECOND PUNIC WAR. 

Hannibal — Fall of Saguntum — Invasion of Italy — Battle of the Thrasi- 
mene Lake — Scipio — Fabius — Battle of Cannae — Revolt of Allies — 
Wisdom and Talent of Hannibal — Victories of Scipio — Siege of Syra- 
cuse — Scipio in Africa — Battle of Zama 355 



Contents. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

THE MACEDONIAN AND ASIATIC WARS. 

Macedonia — Philip — Achaean League — Independence of Greece — Anti- 
ochus — Protectorate of Rome in Asia — Battle of Pydna — iEmilius 
Paulus 371 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

THE THIRD PUNIC WAR. 

Massinissa — War against Carthage — Scipio — Siege of Carthage — Fall 
of Carthage — Effect of the Punic Wars — Great Accession of Roman 
Territories 380 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

ROMAN CONQUESTS TO THE TIME OF THE GRACCHI. 

The Spanish Peninsula — War with the Spaniards — Scipio — War with 
Macedonia — War in Achaia — War in Asia 388 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

ROMAN CIVILIZATION AT THE CLOSE OF THE THIRD PUNIC WAR. 

The Aristocracy — The Provincial Governors — Festivals and Games — 
Cato — Change in the Constitution — Agriculture — Commerce — Slav- 
ery — Small Farmers — Great Fortunes — Literature — Art . . . 394 

CHAPTER XXX. 

THE REFORM MOVEMENT OF THE GRACCHI. 

Evils of the Government — Tiberius Gracchus — His Reforms, and Death 
— Caius Gracchus — Attack on the Aristocracy — Success of Gracchus, 
and Death 404 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

THE WARS WITH JUGURTHA AND THE CIMBRI. — MARIUS. 

The Kumidian War — Jugurtha — Metellus — Marius — The Cimbri — 
Invasion of Italy — The Victories of Marius 415 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

THE SOCIAL WAR. — MARIUS AND SULLA. 

The Servile Classes — Insurrection — Sulla — His Legislation . . . 423 



Contents. xi 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

THE MITHRIDATIC AND CIVIL WARS. — MARIUS AND SULLA. 

Mithridates — Pontus — Sulla Deposed — Battle of Chseronea — Rising of 
Asia — Cinna — Civil War — Dictatorship of Sulla — Abdication of Sulla 428 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

ROME TO THE CIVIL WARS OF POMPEY AND C^ESAK. 

Reaction in Favor of the Aristocracy — Pompey — The Servile War — 
War with the Pirates — Second Mithridatic War — LucuUus — Pompey 
in the East — Cicero — Catiline — Ceesar ....... 436 

CHAPTER XXXV. 

THE CIVIL WARS BETWEEN CESAR AND POMPEY. 

Rivalship between Caesar and Pompey — Military Preparations — War — 
Defeat of Pompey — Flight and Death of Pompey — Consequences of 
the Battle of Pharsalia — Caesar in the East and West — His Dictator- 
ship — Triumphs — Death — Character . . .... 451 

CHAPTER XXXVI. 

THE CIVIL WARS FOLLOWING THE DEATH OF C^SAR. 

Antonius — Octavius — Lepidus — Brutus — Cassius — Cicero — The Tri- 
umvirate—Civil War— Battle of Philippi — Battle of Actium — Su- 
premacy of Octavius 462 

CHAPTER XXXVII. 

THE ROMAN EMPIRE ON THE ACCESSION OF AUGUSTUS. 

Extent of the Empire — Cities — Rome — Government — Army — Com- 
merce — Literature — Art 474 

CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

THE SIX CuESARS OF THE JULIAN LINE. 

Augustus — Ministers — Campaign — Tiberius — Wars with the Germans 
— Germanicus — Caligula — Claudius — The Conquest of Britain — Mes- 
salina — Agrippina — Nero 483 



xii Contents, 

CHAPTER XXXIX. 

THE CLIMAX OF THE EMPIRE. 

Galba — Vespasian — Titus — Domitian — Nerva — Trajan — Hadrian — 
Antoninus Pius — Marcus Aurelius — Commodus 511 

CHAPTER XL. 

THE DECLINE OF THE EMPIRE. 

Moral Corruption — Pertinax — Septimius Severus — Caracalla — Elaga- 
balus — Alexander Severus — Maximin — Decius — Gallienus — Inva- 
sion of the Barbarians — Warlike Emperors — Arrest of Ruin — Dio- 
cletian — Constantine — Division of the Empire 527 

CHAPTER XLI. 

THE FALL OF THE EMPIRE. 

Successors of Constantine — Theodosius — Irruption of Barbarians — The 
Goths — Alaric — Capture of Rome — The Vandals — Second Siege and 
Sack of Rome —The Huns —Fall of the Western Empire — Conclusion . 550 



book: I. 

AIsTOIEE'T OEIEE^TAL IsTATIONS. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE ANTEDILUVIAN WORLD. 



The history of this world begins, according to the chro- 
nology of Archbishop Usher, which is generally received as 
convenient rather than probable, in the year 4004 before 
Christ. In six days God created light and darkness, day and 
night, the firmament and the continents in the midst The Crea- 
of the waters, fruits, grain, and herbs, moon and *^"°* 
stars, fowl and fish, living creatures upon the face of the 
earth, and finally man, with dominion " over the fish of the 
sea, and the fowls of the air, and cattle, and all the earth, 
and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." He 
created man in his own image, and blessed him with univer- 
sal dominion. He formed him from the dust of the ground, 
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. On the 
seventh day, God rested from this vast work of creation, and 
blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, as we suppose, for 
a day of solemn observance for all generations. 

He then planted a garden eastward in Eden, with every 
tree pleasant to the sight and good for food, and ^^^^ garden 
there placed man to dress and keep it. The orig- ^^ ^*^«"- 
inal occupation of man, and his destined happiness, were thus 
centered in agricultural labor. 



14 The Antediluvian World, [Chap. I. 

But man was alone ; so God caused a deep sleep to fall 
Adam and ujDon him, and took one of his ribs and made a 
■^^®' woman. And Adam said, " this woman," which 

the Lord had brought unto him, " is bone of my bone, and 
flesh of my flesh ; therefore shall a man leave his father and 
mother, and shall cleave unto his wife : and they shall be 
one flesh." Thus marriasre was instituted. We observe 
three divine institutions while man yet remained in a state 
of innocence and bliss — the Sabbath ; agricultural employ- 
ment ; and marriage. 

Adam and his wife lived, we know not how long, in the 
Primeval garden of Eden, with perfect innocence, bliss, and 
Paradise. dominion. They did not even know what sin was. 
There were no other conditions imposed upon them than 
that they were not to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge 
of good and evil, which was in the midst of the garden — a pre- 
eminently goodly tree, " pleasant to the eyes, and one to be 
desired." 

Where was this garden — this jDaradise — located ? This is 
a mooted question — difticult to be answered. It lay, thus 
Situation of ^^'^ ^"^^ know, at the head waters of four rivers, two 
Eden. ^£ which were the Euphrates and the Tigris. We 

infer thence, that it was situated among the mountains of 
Armenia, south of the Caucasus, subsequently the cradle of 
the noblest races of men, — a temperate region, in the latitude 
of Greece and Italy. 

We suppose that the garden was beautiful and fruitful, 
Glory of bcyoud all subsequent experience — watered by 
Eden. mists from the earth, and not by rains from the 

clouds, ever fresh and green, while its two noble occupants 
lived upon its produce, directly communing with God, in 
whose image they were made, moral and spiritual — free from 
all sin and misery, and, as we may conjecture, conversant 
with truth in its loftiest forms. 

But sin entered into the beautiful world that was made, 
and death by sin. This is the first recorded fact in human 
history, next to primeval innocence and happiness. 



Chap. I.J The Garden of Eden. 15 

The progenitors of the race were tempted, and did not 
resist the temptation. The form of it may have r^^^^ tempta 
been allegorical and symbolic ; but, as recorded by *^""- 
Moses, was yet a stupendous reality, es]3ecially in view of its 
consequences. 

The tempter was the devil — the antagonist of God — the 
evil power of the world — the principle of evil — a 

rx- 7- TO- -in • • The Devil. 

Satanic agency which bcripture, and all nations, m 
some form, have recognized. When rebellion against God 
began, we do not know ; but it certainly existed when Adam 
was placed in Eden. 

The form which Satanic power assumed was a serpent — 
then the most subtle of the beasts of the field, and jj^g assump- 
we may reasonably suppose, not merely subtle, but ^^^ "of *^a 
attractive, graceful, beautiful, bcAvitching. serpent. 

The first to feel its evil fascination was the woman, and 
she was induced to disobey what she knew to be a The disobe- 
direct command, by the desire of knowledge as well ev".*^^ 
as enjoyment of the appetite. She put trust in the serpent. 
She believed a lie. She was beguiled. 

The man was not directly beguiled by the serpent. Why 
the serpent assailed woman rather than man, the The Fail of 
Scriptures do not say. The man yielded to his ^^^™- 
wife. " She gave him the fruit, and he did eat." 

Immediately a great change came over both. Their eyes 
were opened. They felt shame and remorse, for 

^ . •' . The effect 

they had sinned. They hid themselves from, the 
presence of the Lord, and were afraid. 

God pronounced the penalty — unto the woman, the pains 
and sorrows attending childbirth, and subserviency to her hus- 
band; unto the man labor, toil, sorrow — the curse 

. . The penalty. 

of the ground which he was to till — thorns and 
thistles — no rest, and food obtained only by the sweat of the 
brow ; and all these pains and labors were inflicted upon both 
until they should return to the dust from whence they were 
taken — an eternal decree, never abrogated, to last as long as 
man should till the earth, or woman bring forth children. 



16 TJie Antediluvian World, [Chap. i. 

Thus came sin into the world, through the temptations of 
Introduction Satan and the weakness of man, with the penalty 
of sm. ^£ labor, pain, sorrow, and death. 

Man was expelled from Paradise, and precluded from re- 
Expuision entering it by the flaming sword of cherubim, until 
dise. the locality of Eden, by thorns and briars, and the 

deluge, was obliterated forever. And man and woman were 
sent out into the world to reap the fruit of their folly and 
sin, and to gain their subsistence in severe toil, and amid 
the accumulated evils which sin introduced. 

The only mitigation of the sentence was the eternal enmity 
The mitiga- between the seed of the woman and the seed of the 

tion of the ^ . . 

punishment. Serpent, in which the final victory should be given 
to the former. The rite of sacrifice was introduced as a 
type of the satisfaction for sin by the death of a substitute 
for the sinner ; and thus a hope of final forgiveness held 
out for sin. Meanwhile the miseries of life were alleviated 
by the fruits of labor, by industry. 

Industry, then, became, on the expulsion from Eden, one 
Industry— of the final laws of human happiness on earth, 

one of the . • /» i . ^ 

fundamen- whilc tlic sacrificc held out hopes of eternal life by 
lions of life, the Substitution which the sacrifice typified — the 
Saviour who was in due time to appear. 

With the expulsion from Eden came the sad conflicts of 
the race — conflicts with external wickedness — conflicts with 
the earth — conflicts with evil passions in a man's own soul. 

The first conflict was between Cain, the husbandman, and 
Cain and -^^t the shcphcrd ; the representatives of two 
Abel. great divisions of the human family in the early 

ages. Cain killed Abel because the oflering of the latter 
was preferred to that of the former. The virtue of Abel was 
faith : the sin of Cain was jealousy, pride, resentment, and 
despair. The punishment of Cain was expulsion from his 
father's house, the further curse of the land for hira^ and the 
hatred of the human family. He relinquished his occupation, 
became a wanderer, and gained a precarious support, while 
his descendants invented arts and built cities. 



Chap. I.] The Deluge, 17 

Eve bore another son — Seth, among whose descendants 
the worship of God was preserved for a long time ; but the 
descendants of Seth intermarried finally with the descendants 
of Cain, from whom sprung a race of lawless men, ^he descend- 
so that the earth was filled with violence. The antsofCain. 
material civilization which the descendants of Cain intro- 
duced did not preserve them from moral degeneracy. So 
great was the increasing wickedness, with the growth of the 
race, that " it repented the Lord that he had made man," and 
he resolved to destroy the whole race, with the exception 
of one religious family, and change the whole surface of the 
earth by a mighty flood, which should involve in destruction 
all animals and fowls of the air — all the antediluvian works 
of man. 

It is of no consequence to inquire whether the Deluge was 
universal or partial — whether it covered the whole 

..,-,.. c A ,, The Deluge, 

earth or the existmg habitations oi men. All were 
destroyed by it, except N"oah, and his wife, and his three 
sons, with their wives. The authenticity of the fact rests 
with Moses, and with him we are willing to leave it. 

This dreadful catastrophe took place in the 600th year of 
Noah's life, and 2349 years before Christ, when Theproba- 

•^ ble condition 

the world was 1655 years old, according to oftheante- 

-r~r •, 1 ITT T TTiT diluviaa 

Usher, but much older according to Hale and world. 
other authorities — when more time had elapsed than from 
the Deluge to the reign of Solomon. And hence more peo- 
ple were destroyed, in all probability, than existed on the 
earth in the time of Solomon. And as men lived longer 
in those primeval times than subsequently, and were larger 
and stronger, " for there were giants in those days," and 
early invented tents, the harp, the organ, and were artifi- 
cers in brass and iron, and built cities — as they were full of 
inventions as well as imaginations, it is not unreasonable to 
infer, though we can not know with certainty, that the ante- 
diluvian world was more splendid and luxurious than the 
world in the time of Solomon and Homer — the era of Egyptian 
glories. 

2 



18 Tlie Antediluvian World. [Chap. i. 

The art of building was certainly then carried to consider- 
able perfection, for the ark, which Noah built, wa*" 

The ark. . 

four hundred and fifty feet long, seventy-five wide, 
and forty-five deep ; and was constructed so curiously as to 
hold specimens of all known animals and birds, with provi- 
sions for them for more than ten months. 

This sacred ark or ship, built of gopher wood, floated on 
the world's waves, until, in the seventh month, it rested 
upon the mountains of Ararat. It was nearly a year before 
Noah ventured from the ark. His first act, after he issued 
forth, was to build an altar and ofier sacrifice to the God 
who had preserved him and his family alone, of the human 
race. And the Lord was well pleased, and made a covenant 
The Divine with him that he would never again send a like 

covenant _ . t i t • t i 

with Noah, destruction upon the earth, and as a sign and seal 
of the covenant which he made with all flesh, he set his bow 
in the cloud. We hence infer that the primeval world was 
watered by mists from the earth, like the garden of Eden, 
and not by rains. 

" The memory of the Deluge is preserved in the traditions 
The tradi- of nearly all nations, as well as in the narrative 
Deluge. of Moses ; and most heathen mythologies have some 

kind of sacred ark." Moreover, there are various geological 
phenomena in all parts of the world, which can not be 
accounted for on any other ground than some violent dis- 
ruption produced by a universal Deluge. The Deluge it- 
self can not be explained, although there are many ingen- 
ious theories to show it might be in accordance with natural 
causes. The Scriptures allude to it as a supernatural event, 
for an express end. When the supernatural power of God 
can be disproved, then it will be time to explain the Deluge 
by natural causes, or deny it altogether. The Christian 
world now accepts it as Moses narrates it. 



CHAPTEE IL 

POSTDILUVIAN HISTORY TO THE CALL OF ABRAHAM. — THE 
PATKIAECHAL CONSTITUTION, AND THE DIVISION OF NA- 
TIONS. 

When N"oali and his family issued from the ark, they were 
blessed by God. They were promised a vast posterity, do- 
minion over natm-e, and all animals for food, as well as the 
fruits of the earth. But new laws were imposed, against 
murder, and against the eating of blood. An authority 
was given to the magistrate to punish murder. TheNoacMc 
" Whosoever sheddeth man's blood, by man shall ^^^^' 
his blood be shed." This was not merely a penalty, but a 
prediction. The sacredness of life, and the punishment for 
murder are equally asserted, and asserted with peculiar em- 
phasis. This may be said to be the Noachic Code, afterward 
extended by Moses. From that day to this, murder has been 
accounted the greatest human crime, and has been the most 
severely punished. On the whole, this crime has been the 
rarest in the subsequent history of the world, although com- 
mitted with awful frequency, but seldom till other crimes are 
exhausted. The sacredness of life is the greatest of human 
privileges. 

The government Avas patriarchal. The head of a family 
had almost unlimited power. And this government was re- 
ligious as well as civil. The head of the family was both 
priest and king;. He erected altars and divided Patriarchal 

. . . • ^ 1 1 1 constitu- 

mheritances. He ruled his sons, even it they had tions. 
wives and children. And as the old patriarchs lived to a 
great age, their authority extended over several generations 
and great numbers of people. 



20 Postdiluvian History to Abraham. [Chap. IL 

Isl oali pursued the life of a husbandman, and planted vines, 
probably like the antediluvians. Nor did he escape the 
shame of drunkenness, though we have no evidence it was an 
habitual sin. 

From this sin and shame great consequences followed. 
Noah was indecently exposed. The second son made light 
of it; the two others covered up the nakedness of their 
Consequen- father. For this levity Ham was cursed in his 

cesof the sin ,., , ^ ,. ■, -, -, 

of Noah. children. Canaan, his son, was decreed to be a 
servant of servants — the ancestor of the races afterward 
exterminated by the Jews. To Shem, for his piety, was 
given a special religious blessing. Through him all the 
nations of the earth were blessed. To Japhet was prom- 
ised especial temporal prosperity, and a participation of 
the blessing of Shem. The European races are now reap- 
ing this prosperity, and the religious privileges of Chris- 
tianity. 

j|ipur generations passed without any signal event. They 
all spoke the same language, and pursued the same avoca- 
Settiements tious. They lived in Armenia, but gradually 
sceudants. Spread ovcr the surrounding countries and espe- 
cially toward the west and south. They journeyed to the 
land of Shinar, and dwelt on its fertile plains. This was 
the great level of Lower Mesopotamia, or Chaldea, watered 
by the Euphrates. 

Here they built a city, and aspired to build a tower which 
The Tower should reach unto the heavens. It was vanity 
of Babel. ^^^ pride which incited them, — also fear lest they 
should be scattered. 

We read that Ninirod — one of the descendants of Ham — a 
mighty hunter, had migrated to this plain, and set up a king- 
dom at Babel — perhaps a revolt against patriarchal author- 
ity. Here was a srreat settlement — perhaps the 

Nimrod. ♦' =• ^ tT 

central seat of the descendants of Noah, where 
Nimrod — the strongest man of his times — usurped dominion. 
Under his auspices the city was built — a stronghold from 
which he would defy all other powers. Perhaps here he 



Chap. II.] The Dispersion of Nations, 21 

instituted idolatry, since a tower was also a temple. But, 
whether fear or ambition or idolatry prompted the building 
of Babel, it displeased the Lord. 

The punishment which he inflicted upon the builders was 
confusion of tongues. The people could not understand each 
other, and were obliged to disperse. The tower was left 
unfinished. The Lord "scattered the people abroad upon 
the face of all the earth." Probably some remained at 
Babel, on the Euphrates — the forefe-thers of the Israelites 
when they dwelt in Chaldea. It is not probable The Confu- 
that every man spoke a different language, but tongues. 
that there was a great division of languages, corresponding 
with the great division of families, so that the posterity 
of Shem took one course, that of Japhet another, and 
that of Ham the third — dividing themselves into three 
separate nations, each speaking substantially the same 
toncrue, afterward divided into different dialects from their 
peculiar circumstances. 

Much learning and ingenuity have been expended in trac- 
ing the different races and languages of the earth to the 
grand confusion of Babel. But the subject is too Dispersiott 
complicated, and in the present state of science, ^ 
too unsatisfactory to make it expedient to pursue ethnologi- 
cal and pliilological inquiries in a work so limited as this. 
We refer students to Max Muller, and other authorities. 

But that there was a great tripartite division of the human 
family can not be doubted. The descendants of Japhet 
occupied a great zone running from the high lands of Ar- 
menia to the southeast, into the table-lands of Iran, and to 
Northern India, and to the west into Thrace, the Grecian 
peninsula, and Western Europe. And all the nations which 
subsequently sprung from the children of Japhet, spoke lan- 
guages the roots of which bear a striking affinity. The settie- 
This can be proved. The descendants of Japhet, "uulfJen *of 
supposed to be the oldest son of Noah, possessed -^"P^^*- 
the fairest lands of the world — most favorable to development 
and progress — ^niost favorable to ultimate supremacy. They 



22 Postdiluvian History to Abraham. [Chap. II 

composed the great Caucasian race, which spread over North- 
ern and Western Asia, and over Europe — suj)erior to other 
races in personal beauty and strength, and also intellectual 
force. From the times of the Greek and Romans this race 
has held the supremacy of the world, as was predicted to 
Noah. " God shall enlarge Japhet, and he shall dwell in the 
tents of Shem, and Canaan shall be his servant." The con- 
quest of the descendants of Ham by the Greeks and Romans, 
and their slavery, attest the truth of Scripture. 

The descendants of Shem occupied another belt or zone. 
It extended from the southeastern part of Asia Minor to the 
The settle- Persian Gulf and the peninsula of Arabia. The 
descendlnt^s^ pcoplc livcd in tcnts, wcrc not ambitious of con- 
of Shem. quest, were religious and contemplative. The 
great thcogonies of the East came from this people. They 
studied the star-s. They meditated on God and theological 
questions. They were a chosen race with whom sacred his- 
tory dwells. They had, compared with other races, a small 
territory between the possessions of Japhet on the north, 
and that of Ham on the south. Their destiny was not to 
spread over 'the world, but to exhibit the dealings of God's 
providence. From this race came the Jews and the Messiah. 
The most enterprising of the descendants of Shem were the 
Phoenicians, who pursued commerce on a narrow strip of the 
eastern sliore of the Mediterranean, and who colonized Car- 
thage and North Africa, but were not powerful enough to 
contend successfully with the Romans in political power. 

The most powerful of the posterity of Noah were the 
The descend- descendants of Ham, for more than two thousand 
ants of Ham. y^r^j.g^ sincc they erected great monarchies, .and 
were warlike, aggressive, and unscrupulous. They lived in 
Egypt, Ethiopia, Palestine, and the countries around the 
Red Sea. They commenced their empire in Babel, on the 
great plain of Babylonia, and extended it northward into 
the land of Asshur (Assyria). They built the great cities 
of Antioch, Rehoboth, Calah and Resen. Their empire was 
t.li§ pl4est in the world — that established by a Cushite 



Chap. Il.l The Descendants of Ram. 23 

dynasty on the plains of Babylon, and in the highlands of 
Persia. They cast off the patriarchal law, and indulged in a 
restless passion for dominion. And they were the most civil- 
ized of the ancient nations in arts and material life. They 
built cities and monuments of power. Their temples, their 
palaces, their pyramids were the wonders of the ancient world. 
Their grand and somber architectm'e lasted for centuries. 
They were the wickedest of the nations of the earth, and effem- 
inacy, pride and sensuality followed naturally from their 
material civilization unhallowed by high religious ideas. 
They were hateful conquerors and tyrants, and yet slaves. 
They were permitted to prosper until their vices wrought 
out their own destruction, and they became finally subser- 
vient to the posterity of Japhet. But among some of the 
descendants of Ham civilization never advanced. The negro 
race of Africa ever has been degraded and enslaved. It 
has done nothing to advance human society. None of 
these races, even the most successful, have left durable monu- 
ments of intellect or virtue : they have left gloomy monu- 
ments of tyrannical and physical power. The Babylonians 
and Egyptians laid the foundation of some of the sciences 
and arts, but nothing remains at the present day which 
civilization values. 

How impressive and august the ancient prophecy to 
JSToah ! How strikingly have all the predictions been ful- 
filled ! These give to history an imperishable interest and 
grandeur. 



CHAPTER III. 



EGYPT AND THE PHARAOHS. 



The first country to which Moses refers, in connection 
Tiie original With the Hebrew history, is E^cypt. This favored 

inhabitants , ^ , ,>/.-,-,-, ,- 

of Egypt. land was the seat oi one oi the oldest monarchies 
of the world. Although it would seem that Assyria 
was first peopled, historians claim for Egypt a more re- 
mote antiquity. Whether this claim can be substantiated 
or not, it is certain that Egypt was one of the primeval 
seats of the race of Ham. Mizraim, the Scripture name for 
the country, indicates that it was settled by a son of Ham. 
But if this is true even, the tide of emigration from Armenia 
probably passed to the southeast through Syria and Pal- 
estine, and hence the descendants of Ham had probably 
occupied the land of Canaan before they crossed the desert 
between the Ped Sea and the Mediterranean. I doubt if 
Egypt had older cities than Damascus, Hebron, Zoar, and 
Tyre. 

But Egypt certainly was a more powerful monarchy than 
any existing on the earth in the time of Abraham. 

Its language, traditions, and monuments alike point to a 
Their pecu- high antiquity. It was probably inhabited by a 
iiaaties. mixed race, Semitic as well as Hamite ; though 
the latter had the supremacy. The distinction of castes 
indicates a mixed population, so that the ancients doubted 
whether Egypt belonged to Asia or Africa. The j)eople 
were not black, but of a reddish color, with thick lips, straight 
black hair, and elongated eye, and sunk in the degraded 
superstitions of the African race. 



Chap. III.] Ancient Egypt. 25. 

The geographical position indicates not only a high anti- 
quity, but a state favorable to great national The fertility 
wealth and power. The river Nile, issuing from ^* ^^'^p*^- 
a great lake under the equator, runs 3,000 miles nearly due 
north to the Mediterranean. Its annual inundations covered, 
the valley with a rich soil brought down from the mountains 
of Abyssinia, making it the most fertile in the world. The 
country, thus so favored by a great river, with its rich allu- 
vial deposits, is about 500 miles in length, with an area of 
115,000 square miles, of which 9,600 are subject to tlie fertili- 
zing inundation. But, in ancient times, a great part of the 
country was irrigated, and abounded in orchards, gardens, 
and vineyards. Every kind of vegetable was cultivated, and 
grain was raised in the greatest abundance, so that the peo- 
ple lived in luxury and plenty while other nations were sub- 
ject to occasional famines. 

Among the fruits, were dates, grapes, figs, pomegranates, 
apricots, peaches, oranges, citrons, lemons, limes. The produc- 
bananas, melons, mulberries, olives. Amonof veixe- Esyut. 
tables, if we infer from what exist at present, were beans, 
peas, lentils, lupines, spinach, leeks, onions, garlic, celery, 
chiccory, radishes, carrots, turnips, lettuce, cabbage, fennel, 
gourds, cucumbers, tomatoes, egg-plant. Wliat a variety for 
the sustenance of man, to say nothing of the various kinds 
of grain, — barley, oats, maize, rice, and especially wheat, 
which grows to the greatest perfection. 

In Old times the horses were famous, as well as cattle, 
and sheep, and poultry. Quails were abundant, while tne 
marshes afforded every kind of web-footed fowl. Fish, too, 
abounded in the Nile, and in the lakes. Bees were kept, and 
honey was produced, though inferior to that of Greece. 

The climate also of tliis fruitful land was salubrious with- 
out being enervating. The soil was capable of supporting 
a large population, which amounted, in the time of Herodo- 
tus, to seven millions. On the banks of the Nile were great 
cities, whose ruins still astonish travelers. The The castes of 
land, except that owned by the priests, belonged ^^^^^' 



26 Egypt and the Pharaohs. [Chap. hi. 

to the king, who was supreme and unlimited in power. The 
people were divided into castes, the highest being priests, 
and the lowest husbandmen. The kings were hereditary, 
but belonged to the priesthood, and their duties and labors 
were arduous. The priests were the real governing body, 
and were treated with the most respectful homage. They 
w^ere councilors of the king, judges of the land, and guar- 
dians of all great interests. The soldiers were also numerous, 
and formed a distinct caste. 

When Abram visited Egypt, impelled by the famine in 
Canaan, it was already a powerful monarchy. This was 
about 1921 years before Christ, according to the received 
chronology, when the kings of the 15th dynasty reigned. 
Egyptian Thcsc dynasties of ancient kings are difficult to be 
dynasties. settled, and rest upon traditions rather than well 
defined historical grounds, — or rather on the authority of 
Manetho, an Egyptian priest, who lived nearly 300 years 
before Christ. His list of dynasties has been confirmed, to a 
great extent, by the hieroglyphic inscriptions which are still 
to be found on ancient monuments, but they give us only a 
barren catalogue of names without any vital historical 
truths. Therefore these old dynasties, before Abraham, are 
only interesting to antiquarians, and not satisfactory to them, 
since so little is known or can be known. These, if correct, 
would give a much greater antiquity to Egypt than can be 
reconciled with Mosaic history. But all authorities agree in 
ascribing to Menes the commencement of the first dynasty, 
2712 years before Christ, according to Hales, but 3893 ac- 
cording to Lepsius, and 2700 according to Lane. Neither 
Menes nor his successors of the first dynasty left any monu- 
ments. Tt is probable, however, that Memphis was built by 
them, and possibly hieroglyphics were invented during their 
reigns. 

But here a chronological difficulty arises. The Scriptures 
ascribe ten generations from Shem to Abram. Either the 
generations were made longer than in our times, or the sev- 
enteen dynasties, usually supposed to have reigned when 



Chap. III.] Egyptian Dynasties. 27 

Abram came to Egypt, could not have existed ; for, according 
to the received chronology, he was born 1996, b. c, and the 
Deluge took place 2349, before Christ ; leaving but 353 years 
from the Deluge to the birth of Abraham. How could sev- 
enteen dynasties have reigned in Egypt in that time, even 
supposing that Egypt was settled immediately after the 
Flood, unless either more than ten generations existed from 
Noah to Abram, or that these generations extended over 
seven or eight hundred years ? Until science shall reconcile 
the various chronologies with the one usually received, there 
is but little satisfaction in the study of Egyptian history 
prior to Abram. Nor is it easy to settle when the Pyramids 
were constructed. If they existed in the time of Abram a 
most rapid advance had been made in the arts, unless a 
much longer period elapsed from Noah to Abraham than 
Scripture seems to represent. 

Nothing of interest occurs in Egyptian history until the 
fourth dynasty of kings, when the pyramids of Ghizeh, were 
supposed to have been built — a period more remote than 
Scripture ascribes to the Flood itself, according to our receiv- 
ed chronology. These were the tombs of the Memphian kings, 
who believed in the immortality of the soul, and its final re- 
union with the body after various forms of transmigration. 
Hence the solicitude to preserve the body in some enduring 
monument, and by elaborate embalmment. What T^e Pyra- 
more durable monument than these great raasses of ^^'^^' 
granite, built to defy the ravages of time, and the spoliations 
of conquerors ! The largest of these pyramids, towering 
above other pyramids, and the lesser sepulchres of the rich, 
was built upon a square of 7o6 feet, and the height of it was 
489 feet 9 inches, covering an area of 571,536 feet, or more 
than thirteen acres. The whole mass contained 90,000,000 
cubic feet of masonry, weighing 6,316,000 tons. Nearly in 
the centre of this p41e of stone, reached by a narrow passage, 
were the chambers where the royal sarcophagi were depos- 
ited. At whatever period these vast monuments were actu- 



28 Egyp and the Pharaohs, [Chap. hi. 

ally built, they at least go back into remote antiquity, and 
probably before the time of Abram. 

The first great name of the early Egyptian kings was Se- 
sertesen, or Osirtasin I., the founder of the twelfth dynasty of 
kino-s, B.C. 2080. He was a great conqueror, and tradition con- 
founds him with the Sesostris of the Greeks, which gathered 
up stories about him as the Middle Ages did of Charlemagne 
and his paladins. The real Sesostris was Rameses the Great, 
of the nineteenth dynasty. By the kings of this dynasty (the 
twelfth) Ethiopia was conquered, the Labyrinth was built, 
and Lake Moeris dug, to control the inundations. Under 
them Thebes became a great city. The dynasty 
lasted 100 years, but became subject to the Shep- 
herd kings. These early Egyptian monarchs were fond of 
peace, and their subjects enjoyed repose and prosperity. 

The Shepherd kings, who ruled 400 years, were supposed 
by Manetho, to be Arabs. He leaves us to infer that they were 
The shep- Phoenicians — as is probable — a roving body of con- 
herd kings, q^erors, who easily subdued the peaceful Egyp- 
tians. They have left no monumental history. They were 
alien to the conquered race in language and habits, and 
probably settled in Lower Egypt where the land was most 
fertile, and where conquests would be most easily re- 
tained. 

It was under their rule that Abram probably visited Egypt 
when driven by a famine from Canaan. And they were not 
expelled till the time of Joseph, by the first of the eighteenth 
dynasty. The descendants of the old kings, we suppose, 
lived in Thebes, and were tributary princes for 400 years, 
but gained sufficient strength, finally, to expel the Shomite 
invaders, even as the Gothic nations of Spain, in the Middle 
Ages, expelled their conquerors, the Moors. 

But it was under the Shepherd kings that the relations 
Friendly re- between Egypt and the Hebrew patriarchs took 
HebrewJ*^^ placc. We infer this fact from the friendly inter- 
Shephid course and absence of national prejudices. The 
kings. Phoenicians belonged to the same Semitic stock 



Chap. III. J Expulsion of the Shepherd Kings. 29 

from which Abraham came. They built no temples. They 
did not advance a material civilization. They loaded Abram 
and Joseph with presents, and accepted the latter as a min- 
ister and governor. We read of no great repulsion of races, 
and see a great similarity in pursuits. 

Meanwhile, the older dynasties under whom Thebes was 
built, probably b. c. 2200, gathered strength in misfortune and 
subjection. They reigned, during five dynasties, in a subordin- 
ate relation, tributary and oppressed. The first king of the 
eighteenth dynasty seems to have been a remarkable man — 
the deliverer of his nation. His name was Aah-mes, or Amo- 
sis, and he expelled the shepherds from the greater Expulsion of 
part of Egypt, B.C. 1525. In his reign we see on herd kings. 
the monuments chariots and horses. He built temples both 
in Thebes and Memphis, and established a navy. This was 
probably the king who kne^^r not Joseph. His successors 
continued the work of conquest, and extended their dominion 
from Ethiopia to Mesopotamia, and obtained that part of 
"Western Asia formerly held by the Chaldeans. They built 
the temple of Karnak, the "Vocal Memnon," and the avenue 
of Sphinxes in Thebes. 

The grandest period of Egyptian history begins with 
the nineteenth dynasty, founded by Sethee I., or Sethos, 
B. c. 1340. He built the famous "Hall of Columns," in the 
temple of Karnak, and the finest of the tombs of the The- 
ban kings. On the walls of this great temple are depicted 
his conquests, especially over the Hittites. But the glories 
of the monarchy, now decidedly military, culmin- Greatness of 
ated in Rameses H.— the Sesostris of the Greeks. ^'^'^'^^^^^ "• 
He extended his dominion as far as Scythia and Thrace, 
while his naval expeditions penetrated to the Erythraean 
Sea. The captives which he brought from his wars were 
employed in digging canals, which intersected the country, 
for purposes of irrigation, and especially that great canal 
which united the Mediterranean with the Red Sea. He 
added to the temple of Karnak, built the Mem- His 
nonium on the western side of the Nile, opposite tirtti*workfl. 



30 Egyjpt and the Pharaohs. [Chap. hi. 

to Thebes, and enlarged the temple of Ptah, at Memphis, 
which he adorned by a beautiful colossal statue, the fist 
of which is (now in the British Museum) thirty inches 
wide across the knuckles. But the Rameseum, or Mem- 
nonium, was his greatest architectural work, approached by 
an avenue of sphinxes and obelisks, in the centre of which 
was the great statue of Rameses himself, sixty feet high, 
carved from a single stone of the red granite of Syene. 

The twentietli dynasty was founded by Sethee II., b. c. 
1220 (or 1232 B.C., according to Wilkinson), when Gideon 
ruled the Israelites and Theseus reigned at Athens and 
Priam at Troy. The third king of this dynasty — Rameses 
III. — built palaces and tombs scarcely inferior to any of 
the Theban kings, but under his successors the Theban 
Decline of power declined. Under the twenty-first dynasty, 
Thebes. ^vhich began b. c. 1Q85, Lower Egypt had a new 
capital, Zoan, and gradually extended its power over Upper 
Egypt. It had a strong Semitic element in its population, 
and strengthened itself by alliances with the Assyrians. 

The twenty-second dynasty was probably Assyrian, and 
began about 1009 b. c. It was hostile to the Jews, and 
took and sacked Jerusalem. 

From this period the history of Egypt is obscure. Ruled 
Obscurity by Assyrians, and then by Ethiopians, the gran- 
bisto?y. deur of the old Theban monarchy had passed 
away. On the rise of the Babylonian kingdom, over the 
ruins of the old Assyrian Empire, Egypt was greatly pros- 
trated as a military power. Babylon became the great 
monarchy of tlie East, and gained possession of all the terri- 
tories of the Theban kings, from the Euphrates to the 
Nile. 

Leaving, then, the obscure and uninteresting history of 
Egypt, which presents nothing of especial interest until its 
conquest by Alexander, b. c. 332, with no great kings even, 
with the exception of Necho, of the twenty-sixth dynasty, 
B. c. 611, we will present briefly the religion, manners, cus- 
toms, and attainments of the ancient Egyptians. 



Chap. HI.] Egyptian Deities, 31 

Their religion was idolatrous. They worshiped various 
divinities: Num, the soul of the universe; Amen, Eeiigion 
the generative principle ; Khom, by whom the pro- Egyptians. 
ductiveness of nature was emblematized; Ptah, or the 
creator of the universe; Ra, the sun; Thoth, the patron 
of letters; Athor, the goddess of beauty; Mu, physical 
light ; Mat, moral light ; Munt, the god of war ; Osiris, the 
personification of good ; Isis, who presided over funeral 
rites ; Set, the personification of evil ; An up, who judged 
the souls of the departed. 

These were principal deities, and were worshiped through 
sacred animals, as emblems of divinity. Among them were 
the bulls. Apis, at Memphis, and Muenis, at Helio- 

1. -I 1 T ^ • • r.^, -,., The Deities. 

polls, both sacred to Usn-is, iho crocodile was 
sacred to Lebak, whose offices are unknown; the asp to 
Num ; the cat to Pasht, whose offices were also unknown • 
the beetle to Ptah. The worship of these and of other ani- 
mals was conducted with great ceremony, and sacrifices were 
made to them of other animals, fruits and vegetables. 

Man was held accountable for his actions, and to be 
judged according to them. He was to be brought before 
Osiris, and receive from him future rewards or punishments. 

The penal laws of the Egyptians were severe. ^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ 
Murder was punished with death. Adultery was -i^syi>tiiins. 
punished by the man being beaten with a thousand rods. 
The woman had her nose cut off. Theft was punished with 
less severity — with a beating by a stick. Usury was not per- 
mitted beyond double of the debt, and the debtor was not 
imprisoned. 

The government was a monarchy, only limited by the 
priesthood, into whose order he was received, 
and was administered by men appointed by the 
king. On the whole, it was mild and paternal, and exer- 
cised for the good of the people. 

Polygamy was not common, though concubines were 
allowed. In the upper classes women were treated n.abitsofthe 
with great respect, and were regarded as the equals p®"^'^®- 



32 ^gyP^ ^^^ ^^^ Pliaraohs. [Chap. hi. 

of men. They ruled their households. The rich were hos- 
pitable, and delighted to give feasts, at which were dancers 
and musicians. They possessed chariots and horses, and 
were indolent and pleasure-seeking. The poor people toiled, 
with scanty clothing and poor fare. 

Hieroglyphic writing prevailed from a remote antiquity. 
Literary The papyrus was also used for hieratic writing, 
and numerous papyri have been discovered, which 
show some advance in literature. Astronomy was cultivated 
by the priests, and was carried to the highest point it could 
attain w ithout modern instruments. Geometry also reached 
considerable perfection. Mechanics must have been carried 
to a great extent, when we remember that vast blocks of 
stone were transported 500 miles and elevated to enormous 
heights. Chemistry was made subservient to many arts, 
such as the working of metals and the tempering of steel. 
But architecture was the great art in which the Egyptians 
excelled, as we infer from the ruins of temples and palaces ; 
and these wonderful fabrics were ornamented with paintings 
which have preserved their color to this day. Architecture 
was massive, grand, and imposing. Mag^^al arts were in 
high estimation, and chiefly exercised by the priests. The 
industrial arts reached great excellence, especially in the 
weaving of linen, pottery, and household furniture. The 
Egyptians were great musicians, using harps, flutes, cym- 
bals, and drums. They were also great gardeners. In their 
dress they were simple, frugal in diet, though given to occa- 
sional excess ; fond of war, but not cruel like the Assyrians ; 
hospitable among themselves, shy of strangers, patriotic m 
feeling, and contemplative in character, / 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE JEWISH COMMONWEALTH. 

It does not fall in with the design of this history to present, 
in detail, the fortunes of the Jewish nation with which all are 
familiar from the sacred narrative. 

The history of the Hebrews from Abraham to Joseph is 
very simple — that of a small tribe of pastoral people ^he Patri- 
who had no political or even social influence in the ^^^^^' 
countries where they roved as shepherds. The story of the 
Patriarchs is deeply interesting, however, as told by Moses, 
a great master of historical composition. Who has not read 
it, and pondered it, from earliest youth — the faith and trial of 
Abraham, his prosperity as the head of a pastoral family, and 
the divine promise made to him that he should become the 
father of a mighty nation, and that through him all the families 
of the earth should be blessed ? Who does not know the peace- 
ful and dignified life of Isaac, born when Abraham was one 
hundred years old, his riches in flocks and herds, and the bless- 
ing which he bestowed upon his younger son Jacob, who stole 
the birthright from Esau, aided by the craft of his mother Re- 
bekah ? Who is not familiar with the life Jacob led as an exile 
from his father's house, to escape the wrath of his elder brother, 
whom he had so cruelly wronged, — the history of his craft and 
wisdom, of his two wives, of his numerous children, the progeni- 
tors of the twelve tribes of Israel? Still more interesting is 
the pathetic story of Joseph, sold to Midianites from the jealousy 
of his brethren, his sojourn in the land of Egypt, of which he 
became governor, the final rescue of his father's house from the 
miseries of famine, and the settlement of the Hebrews on the 
banks of the Nile. The narrative of these adventures is the most 
beautiful ever written, and shows the highest, dramatic art. 

It would seem that Joseph remained the governor of Egypt, 
3 



34 The Jewish Commonwealth. [Chap. iv. 

the viceroy of Pharaoh, until a new dynasty expelled the 
shepherd kings who had reigned before the days of Abraham. 

Under the new dynasty the Hebrews still continued to multi- 
israei in P^Jj Until their prosperity excited the fear or the envy 
JSgypt- Qf \\^Q Egyptian monarch. Tlie consequence -was a 

persecution which ended in their miraculous deliverance by 
Moses. It took place four hundred and thirty years from the 
call of Abraham, after a sojourn in Egypt of two hundred 
and fifteen years. The Hebrews then became a nation, and 
numbered some six hundred thousand men, besides women and 
children, probably near four millions of souls. 

It was during their wanderings in the wilderness of Sinai, 
that Moses, their heroic leader, and the ablest man ever born 
among the Jews, gave, by divine direction, that great system of 
jurisprudence, which not only was the supreme law of the na- 
tion until Christ, but has entered, more or less, into the codes of 
all modern Christian nations. 

The fundamental principle of the Jewish code was to estab- 
lish the doctrine of the unity of God. Idolatry had crept into 
the religious system of all the nations of the earth, and a de- 
grading polytheism was everywhere prevalent. The Israelites 
had not probably escaped the contagion of bad example, and 
the suggestions of evil powers. The most necessary truth to 
impress upon the nation was the God of Abraham, and Isaac, 
and Jacob. Jehovah was made the supreme head of the 
Jewish state, whom the Hebrews were required, first and last, 
to recognize, and whose laws they were required to obey. 
And this right to give laws to the Hebrews was deduced, 
not only because he was the supreme creator and preserver, 
but because he had also signally and especially laid the 
foundation of the state by signs and miracles. He had 
spoken to the patriarchs, he had brought them into the land 
of Egypt, he had delivered them when oppressed. Hence, 
they were to have no other gods than this God of Abraham 
— this supreme, personal, benevolent God. The violation of 
this fundamental law was to be attended with the severest 
penalties. Hence Moses institutes the worship of the Supreme 



Chap. IV.] The WoTship of Jehovah, 35 

Deity. It was indeed ritualistic, and blended with sacrifices 
and ceremonies ; but the idea — the spiritual idea of God as the 
supreme object of all obedience and faith, was impressed first 
of all upon the minds of the Israelites, and engraven on the 
tables of stone — " Thou shalt have no other gods before me." 

Having established the idea and the worship of God, 
Moses then instituted the various rites of the service, and 
laid down the principles of civil government, as the dictation 
of this Supreme Deity, under whose supreme guidance they 
were to be ruled. 

But before the details of the laws were given to guide the 
Israelites in their civil polity, or to regulate the worship of 
Jehovah, Moses, it would seem, first s^^ake the word, of God, 
amid the thunders and lightnings of Sinai, to the assembled 
people, and delivered the ten fundamental com- The Ten 

T i'i i«Ti TTT Command- 

mandments which were to bind them and all sue- ments. 
ceedino^ jrenerations. Whether these were those which were 



o o 



afterward written on the two tables of stone, or not, we do 
not know. We' know only that these great obligations were 
declared soon after the Israelites had encamped around Sinai, 
and to the whole people orally. 

And, with these, God directed Moses more particularly to 
declare also the laws relating to man-servants, and to man- 
slaughter, to injury to women, to stealing, to damage, to the 
treatment of strangers, to usury, to slander, to the observ- 
ance of the Sabbath, to the reverence due to magistrates, and 
sundry other things, which seem to be included in th(3 ten 
commandments. 

After this, if we rightly interpret the book of Exodus, 
Moses on Moscs wcut up into the mountain of Sinai, and 
Sinai. there abode forty days and forty nights, receiving 

the commandments of God. Then followed the directions 
respecting the ark, and the tabernacle, and the mercy-seat, 
and the cherubim. And then were ordained the priesthood 
of Aaron and his vestments, and the garments for Aaron's 
sons, and the ceremonies which pertained to the conse- 
cration of priests, and the altar of incense, and the brazen 
laver. 



86 The Jewish Commonwealth, [Chap. iv. 

After renewed injunctions to observe the Sabbath, Moses 
The tables of ^'^ceived of the Lord the two tables of stone, 
Btone, "written with the finger of God." But as he 

descended the mountain with these tables, after forty days, 
and came near the camp, he perceived the golden calf which 
Aaron had made of the Egyptian ear-rings and jewelry, — 
made to please tlie murmuring people, so soon did they for- 
get the true God who brought them out of Egypt. And 
Moses in anger, cast down the tables and brake them, and 
destroyed tlie calf, and caused the slaughter of three thou- 
sand of the people by the hands of the children of Levi. 

But God forgave the iniquity and renewed the tables, and 
made a new covenant with Moses, enjoining upon him the 
utter destruction of the Canaanites, and the complete extirpa- 
The Idolatry ^^^^^ ^^ idolatry. He again gathered together the 
of the Jews, people of Israel, and renewed the injunction to ob- 
serve the Sabbath, and then prepared for the building of the 
tabernacle, as the Lord directed, and also for the making of 
the sacred vessels and holy garments, and the various ritu- 
alistic form of worship. He then established the sacrificial 
rites, consecrated Aaron and his sons as priests, laid down the 
law for them in their sacred functions, and made other divers 
laws for the nation, in their social and political relations. 

The substance of these civil laws was the political equality 
of the people; the distribution of the public domains among 
the free citizens which were to remain inalienable and perpet- 
ual In the families to which they were given, thus making 
absolute poverty or overgrown riches impossible; the estab- 
lishment of a year of jubilee, once every fifty years, when 
there should be a release of all servitude, and all debts, and 
all the social inequalities which half a century produced ; 
a magistracy chosen by the people, and its responsibility 
to the people ; a speedy and impartial administration of 
justice; the absence of a standing army and the prohi- 
bition of cavalry, thus indicating a peaceful policy, and the 
preservation of political equality; the establishment of 
agriculture as the basis of national prosperity; universal 



Chap. IV.] The Mosaio Legislation. 37 

industry, inviolability of private property, and the sacredness 
of family relations. These were fundamental principles. 
Moses also renewed the Noahmic ideas of the „, ,, , 

The Mosaic 

sacredness of human life. He further instituted legislation. 
rules for the education of the people, that " sons may be as 
plants grown np in their youth, and daughters as corner 
stones polished after the similitude of a palace." Such were 
the elemental ideas of the Hebrew commonwealth, which 
have entered, more or less, into all Christian civilizations. I 
can not enter upon a minute detail of these primary laws. 
Each of the tribes formed a separate state, and had a local 
administration of justice, but all alike recognized the 
theocracy as the supreme and organic law. To the tribe of 
Levi were assigned the duties of the priesthood, and the 
general oversight of education and the laws. The members 
of this favored tribe were thus priests, lawyers, teachers, and 
popular orators — a literary aristocracy devoted to the culti- 
vation of the sciences. The chief mao-istrate of the united 
tribes was not prescribed, but Moses remained the highest 
magistrate until his death, when the command was given to 
Joshua. Both Moses and Joshua convened the states scene- 
ral, presided over their deliberations, commanded the army, 
and decided all appeals in civil questions. The office of 
chief magistrate was elective, and was held for life, no salary 
was attached to it, no revenues were appropriated to it, no 
tribute was raised for it. The chief ruler had no outward 
badges of authority ; he did not wear a diadem ; he was not 
surrounded with a court. His power was great as commander 
of the armies and president of the assemblies, but he did not 
make laws or impose taxes. He was assisted by a body of 
seventy elders — a council or senate, whose decisions, however, 
were submitted to the congregation, or general body of citi- 
zens, for confirmation. These senators were elected ; the office 
was not hereditary ; neither was a salary attached to it. 

The great congregation — or assembly of the people, in 
which lay the supreme power, so far as any human power 
could be supreme in a theocracy, — was probably a ,^^^ Jewish 
delegated body chosen by the people in their theocracy. 



38 The Jewish Commonwealth, [Chap. iv. 

tribes. They were representatives of the people, acting for the 
general good, without receiving instructions from their con- 
stituents. It was impossible for the elders, or for Moses, to ad- 
dress two million of people. They spoke to a select assembly. 
It was this assembly which made or ratified the laws, and 
which the executioner carried out into execution. 

The oracle of Jehovah formed an essential part of the con- 
stitution, since it was God who ruled the nation. The oracle, 
in the form of a pillar of cloud, directed the wanderings of 
the people in the wilderness. This appeared amid 
the thunders of Sinai. This oracle decided all 
final questions and difiicult points of justice. It could not 
be interrogated by private persons, only by the High Priest 
himself, clad in his pontifical vestments, and with the sacred 
insignia of his ofiice, by " urim and thummim." Within the 
most sacred recesses of the tabernacle, in the Holy of Holies, 
the Deity made known his will to the most sacred personage 
of the nation, in order that no rash resolution of the people, 
or senate, or judge might be executed. And this response, 
given in an audible voice, was final and supreme, and not 
like the Grecian oracles, venal and mendacious. This oracle 
of tlie Hebrew God " was a wise provision to preserve a con- 
tinual sense of the principal design of their constitution — to 
keep the Hebrews from idolatry, and to the worship of the 
only true God as their immediate protector ; and that their 
security and prosperity rested upon adhering to his counsels 
and commands." 

The designation and institution of high priest belonged 
not to the council of priests — although he was of the tribe of 
Levi, but to the Senate, and received the confirmation of the 
people through their deputies. " But the priests belonged 
to the tribe of Levi, which was set apart to God — the king 
of the commonwealth." " They were thus, not merely a 
sacerdotal body, appointed to the service of the altar, but 
The Priest- also a temporal magistracy having important civil 
^"^"^^ and political functions, especially to teach the peo- 

ple the laws." The high priest, as head of the hierarchy, 



Chap. IV.] The Jewish Code. 39 

and supreme interpreter of the laws, had his seat in the cap- 
ital of the nation, while the priests of his tribe were scattered 
among the other tribes, and were hereditary. The Hebrew 
priests simply interpreted the laws ; the priests of Egypt 
made them. Their power was chiefly judicial. They had 
no means of usurpation, neither from property, nor military 
command. They were simply the expositors of laws which 
they did not make, which they could not change, and which 
they themselves were^ bound to obey. The income of a 
Levite was about five times as great as an ordinary man, and 
this, of course, was derived from the tithes. But a greater 
part of the soil paid no tithes. The taxes to the leading 
class, as the Levites were, can not be called ruinous wheu 
compared with what the Egyptian priesthood received, espe- 
cially when we remember that all the expenses connected 
with sacrifice and worship were taken from the tithes. The 
treasures which flowed into the sacerdotal treasury belonged 
to the Lord, and of these the priests were trustees rather 
than possessors. 

Such, in general terms, briefly presented, was the Hebrew 
constitution framed by Moses, by the direction of God. It 
was eminently republican in spirit, and the power of the 
people through their representatives, was great and control- 
ling. Tlie rights of property were most sacredly guarded, 
and crime was severely and rigidly punished. Every citizen 
was eligible to the highest offices. That the people were 
the source of all power is proven by their voluntary change 
of government, against the advice of Samuel, against the 
oracle, and against the council of elders. We look The Hebrew 
in vain to the ancient constitutions of Greece and *^«°8ti'^^*io°- 
Rome for the wisdom we see in the Mosaic code. Under 
no ancient government were men so free or the laws so just. 
It is not easy to say how much the Puritans derived from the 
Hebrew constitution in erecting their new empire, but in 
many aspects there is a striking resemblance between the 
republican organization of New England, and the Jewish 
commonwealth. 



.4^ The Jewish Commonwealth, [Chap. iv. 

The Mosaic code was framed in the first year after the ex- 
odus, while the Israelites were encamped near Sinai. When 
the Tabernacle was erected, the camp was broken up, and 
the wandering in the desert recommenced. This was con- 
tinued for forty years — not as a punishment, but as a disci- 
pline, to enable the Jews to become indoctrinated into the 
principles of their constitution, and to gain strength and 
organization, so as more successfully to contend with the 
people they were commanded to expel from Canaan. In this 
wilderness they had few enemies, and some friends, and these 
vvere wandei-ing Arab tribes. 

"\Ye can not point out all the details of the wanderings 
under the leadership of Moses, guided by the pillar of fire 
and the cloud. After forty years, they reached the broad 
valley which runs from the eastern gulf of the Red Sea, 
along the foot of Mount Seir, to the valley of the Dead 
The wander- Sea. Diverted from a direct entrance into Canaan 

ings ol the . 

Israelites. by hostilc Edomitcs, they marched to the hilly 
country to the east of Jordan, inhabited by the Amor- 
ites. In a conflict with this nation they gained possession of 
Last days of ^^^ whole territory, from Mount Hermon " to the 
Moses. river Arnon, which runs into the Dead Sea. The 

hills south of this river were inhabited by pastoral Moabites, 
descendants of Lot, and beyond them were the Ammonites, a 
kindred tribe. These combined tribes or nations hoped to expel 
the invaders encamped on the plains of Moab. 

It was then that Moses delivered his farewell instructions 
and appointed his successor, and passed away on Mount Pisgah, 
B. c. 1451, from which he could see the promised land, — a land 
he was not permitted to enter. 

The Jews could now take care of themselves, and there was 
no further need of manna. Supplies of food were henceforth 
obtained from the nations to be subdued. I 

Then followed the passage of the Jordan and the fall of Jeri- f 
cho — an important conquest, the first under the guidance of 
Joshua. None of the inhabitants of the city wer^ spared ex- 
cept E-ahab the harlot, and her father's household, in reward for 



Chap. IV.] Conquests of Joshua, 41 

her secretion of the spies whom Joshua had sent into the city. 
The important city of Ai then fell into the hands of the invad- 
ers, and the spoil of it was reserved for the national use. 

We will not enumerate the conquests of Joshua, who seems 
to have b6en an able and gallant leader, as well as a conquests 
reproachless character. Most of the Canaanites were of Joshua, 
subdued, and the conquered country was divided among the dif- 
ferent Jewish tribes, half of which were settled on the west of 
Jordan. The Philistines alone escaped, until the time of 
David. 

The sacred tabernacle was now removed to Shiloh, in the 
hilly country between the Jordan and the Medi terra- r^^^ t^^^. 
nean, which had been assigned to the tribe of Eph- ^™a^i«' 
raim. The preeminence was given to the tribe of Judah, whose 
territory was the most considerable. 

The Israelites then entered, by conquest, into a fruitful land, 
well irrigated, with orchards, and vineyards, and olive grounds, 
and a cultivated face of nature, with strong cities and fortifica- 
tions. That conquest was aggressive, and would have been 
against all rules of morality, had it not been directly ordained 
and commanded by Jehovah, whom the Jews recognized as their 
" Invisible King." 

Joshua, the great captain of the nation, died about the year 
1426 B. c, and Shechera, the old abode of Abraham Death of 
and Jacob, remained the chief city until the fall ^^^^^^ 
of Jerusalem. Here the bones of Joseph were deposited, 
with those of his ancestors. 

The nation w^as ruled by Judges from the death of Joshua 
for about 330 years — a period of turbulence and 
of conquest. The theocracy was in full force, ^ ^^^' 

administered by the high priests and the council of elders. 
The people, however, were not perfectly cured of the sin of 
idolatry, and paid religious veneration to the gods of Phoe- 
nicia and Moab. The tribes enjoyed a virtual independence,' 
and central authority was weak. In consequence, there 
were frequent dissensions and jealousies and encroachments. 

The most powerful external enemies of this period were 
the kings of Mesopotamia, of Moab, and of Hazor, the 



42 The Jewish Commonwealth, [CtrAP. IV. 

Midianites, the Amalekites, the Ammonites, and the Philis- 
, , tines. The orreat heroes of the Israelites in their 

Their wars. . ~^ 

contests with these people were Othniel, Ehud, 
Barak, Gideon, Jephthah and Samson. After the victories 
of Gideon over the Midianites, and of Jephthah over the 
Ammonites, the northern and eastern tribes enjoyed com- 
parative repose, and when tranquillity was restored Eli seems 
to have exercised the office of high priest Avith extraordinary 
dignity, but his sons w^ere a disgrace and scandal, wdiose 
profligacy led the way to the temporary subjection of the 
Israelites for forty years to the Philistines, who obtained 
possession of the sacred ark. 

A deliverer of the country was raised up in the person of 

Samuel,' the prophet, who obtained an ascendancy 

Samuel. , ,• ^ i • • t i--, 

over the nation by his purity and moral wisdom. 
He founded the " School of the Prophets " in Ramah, and to 
him the people came for advice. He seems to have exercised 
the office of judge. Under his guidance the Israelites recov- 
ered their sacred ark, which the Philistines, grievously tor- 
mented by God, sent back in an impulse of superstitious 
fear. Moreover, these people w^ere so completely over- 
thrown by the Israelites that they troubled them no longer 
for many years. 

Samuel, w^hen old, made his sons judges, but their rule 
was venal and corrupt. In disgust, the people of Israel 
The Israel- tlicu dcsircd a king. Samuel warned them of the 

ites demand „ , i/?.iixi 

a King. conscquences oi such a step, and lo retold the 

oppression to which they -svould be necessarily subject* 
but they were bent on having a king, like other nations — a 
man w^ho shauld lead them on to conquest and dominion. 
Samuel then, by divine command, granted their request, and 
selected Saul, of the tribe of Benjamin, as a fit captain to 
lead the people against the Philistines — the most powerful 
foe which had afflicted Israel. 

After he had anointed the future king he assembled the 
Anoint- wholc nation together, through their deputies, at 
Saul. Mizpeh, who confirmed the divine appointment. 



Chap. IV.] The PUUstines, 43 

Saul, wlio appeared reluctant to accept the higli dignity, 
was fair and tall, and noble in appearance, patriotic, warlike, 
generous, affectionate — the type of an ancient hero, but 
vacillating, jealous, moody, and passionate. He was a man 
to make conquests, but not to elevate the dignity of the 
nation. Samuel retired into private life, and Saul reigned 
over the whole people. 

His first care was to select a chosen band of expe- 
r'enced warriors, and there was need, for the Philistines 
gathered together a great army, with 30,000 His wars 
chariots and 6,000 horsemen, and encamped at Philistines. 
Michmash. The Israelites, in view of this overwhelming 
forcfe, hid themselves from fear, in caves and amid the rocks 
of the mountain fastnesses. In their trouble it was found 
necessary to offer burnt sacrifices ; but Saul, impulsive and 
assuming, would not wait to have the rites performed accord- 
ing to the divine direction, but offered the sacrifices himself. 
By this act he disobeyed the fundamental laws which Moses 
had given, violated, as it were, the constitution ; and, as a 
penalty for this foolish and rash act, Samuel pronounced his 
future deposition; but God confounded, nevertheless, the 
armies of the Philistines, and they were routed and scattered. 
Saul then turned against the Amalekites, and took their 
king, whom he spared in an impulse of generosity, even 
though he utterly destroyed his people. Samuel reproved 
him for this leniency against the divine command. Saul 
attempted to justify himself by the sacrifice of all the ene- 
mies' goods and oxen, to which Samuel said, " Hath the 
Lord as great delight in burnt sacrifices and offerings as in 
obeying the voice of the Lord ? Behold ! to obey is better 
than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams ; for rebel- 
lion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness as iniquity 
and idolatry." Most memorable words ! thus setting virtue 
and obedience over all rites and ceremonies — a final answer 
to all ritualism and phariseeism. 

The remainder of the life of Saul was embittered by the 



44 The Jeivish Commonwealth. [Chap. IV.. 

consciousness tliat the kingdom would depart from his 
The unhap- house ; and by his jealousy of David, and his un- 
C?* manly persecution of him ; in whom he saw his 

successor. He was slain, with three of his sons, at the battle 
of Gilbon, when the Philistines gained a great victory — 
B. C. 1056. 

On the death of Saul, David entered upon his magnificent 
reign as king of Judah, but the other tribes still ad- -^^^^^ ^^ 
hered to the house of Saul. A civil war ensued, the ^^^^'^• 
first in Jewish history, during which Abner, the ablest general 
of Saul, was killed. The war lasted seven and a half years, 
when all the tribes gave their allegiance to David, who fixed the 
seat of his empire at Jerusalem, which had been wrested from 
the Jebusites b. c. 1048. 



CHAPTEE y. 

THE JEWISH MONARCHY. 

"We can not enter upon a detail of the conquests of David, 
the greatest warrior that his nation has produced. In suc- 
cessive campaigns, extending over thirty years, he r^ie reio-n of 
reduced the various Canaanite nations that re- J"^^^*^- 
mained unconquered — the Amalekites, the Moabites, the 
Philistines, the Edomites, and the Syrians of Zobah. Hiram, 
king of Tyre, was his ally. His kingdom extended from 
the borders of Egypt to the Euphrates, and from the valley 
of Coelo-Syria to the eastern gulf of the Red Sea. But his 
reign, if glorious and successful, was marked by troubles. 
He was continually at war ; his kingdom was afflicted with 
a plague as the punishment for his vanity in numbering the 
people ; his son Amnon disgraced him ; Absalom, his favorite 
son, revolted and was slain ; he himself was expelled for a 
time from his capital. 

But David is memorable for his character, and his poetry, 
his romantic vicissitudes of life, and as the founder character of 
of a dynasty rather than for his conquests over 
the neighboring nations. His magnificent virtues blended 
with faults, his piety in spite of his sins, his allegiance to 
God, and his faith in his promises invest his character with 
singular interest. In his Psalms he lives through all the gener- 
ations of men. He reigned thirty-three years at Jerusalem, 
and seven at Hebron, and transmitted his throne to 
Solomon — ^his youngest child, a youth ten years of age, pre- 
cocious in wisdom and culture. 

The reisjn of Solomon is most distino;uished for the maof- 
nificent Temple he erected in Jerusalem, after the The reign of 
designs furnished by his father, aided by the 



46 The Jewish Monarchy. TChap. v. 

friendship of the Phoenicians. This edifice, " beautiful for 
situation — the joy of the whole earth," was the wonder of 
those times, and though small compared with subsequent 
Grecian temples, was probably more profusely ornamented 
with gold, silver, and precious woods, than any building 
of ancient times. We have no means of knowing its 
His architec architectural appearance, in the absence of all plans 
turai works. ^^^ ^^^ ruins, and mucli ingenuity has been ex 
pended in conjectures, which are far from satisfac- 
tory. It most probably resembled an Egyptian temple, 
modified by Phoenician artists. It had an outer court for 
worshipers and their sacrifices, and an inner court for the 
ark and the throne of Jehovah, into which the high priest 
alone entered, and only once a year. It was erected upon a 
solid platform of stone, having a resemblance to the temples of 
Paestum. The portico, as rebuilt, in the time of Herod, was 
180 feet high, and the temple itself was entered by nine 
gates thickly coated with silver and gold. The inner 
sanctuary was covered on all sides by plates of gold, and 
was dazzling to the eye. It was connected with various 
courts and porticoes which gave to it an imposing appearance. 
Its consecration by Solomon, amid the cloud of glories 
in which Jehovah took possession of it, and the immense 
body of musicians and singers, was probably the grandest 
religious service ever performed. That 30,000 men were em- 
ployed by Solomon, in hewing timber on Mount Lebanon, and 
70,000 more in hewing stones, would indicate a very extensive 
and costly edifice. The stones which composed the foundation 
were of extraordinary size, and rivaled the greatest works of 
the Egyptians. The whole temple was overlaid Avith 
gold — a proof of its extraordinary splendor, and it took 
seven years to build it. 

The palace of Solomon must also have been of great mag- 
nificence, on which the resources of his kingdom 
were employed for thirteen years. He moreover 
built a palace for his wife, the daughter of Pharaoh, composed 
of costly stones, the foundation-stones of which were fifteen feet 



Chap. V.] Solomon, 47 

in length, surrounded with beautiful coiumns. But these 
palaces did not include all his works, for the courts of the 
temple were ornamented with brazen pillars, with elaborate 
capitals, brazen seas standing upon bronze oxen, brazen 
bases ornamented with figures of various animals, brazen 
lavers, one of which contained forty baths, altars of gold, 
tables, candelabras, basins, censers and other sacred vessels 
of 23ure gold, — all of which together were of enormous 
expense and great beauty. 

During the execution of these splendid works, which occu- 
pied thirteen years or more, Solomon gave extraordinary 
indications of wisdom, as well as siarns of srreat mt. • ^ 

' _ _ * » The wisdom. 

temporal prosperity. His kingdom was the most *>^ Solomon. 
powerful of Western Asia, and he enjoyed peace with other 
nations. His fame spread through the East, and the Queen 
of Sheba, among others, came to visit him, and witness his 
wealth and prosperity. She was amazed and astonished at 
the splendor of his life, the magnificence of his court, and 
the brilliancy of his conversation, and she burst out in the 
most unbounded panegyrics. " The half was not told me." 
She departed leaving a present of one hundred and twenty 
talents of gold, besides spices and precious stones ; and he 
gave, in return, all she asked. We may judge of the wealth 
of Solomon from the fact that in one year six hundred and 
sixty-six talents of gold flowed into his treasury, besides the 
spices, and the j)recious stones, and ivory, and rare curiosi- 
ties which were brought to him from Arabia and India. 
The voyages of his ships occupied three years, and it is 
supposed that they doubled the Cape of Good Hope. All 
his banqueting cups and dishes were of pure gold, and " he 
exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and wisdom," 
who made their contributions with royal munificence. In 
his army were 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses, which it 
would seem were purchased in Egypt. 

Intoxicated by this splendor, and enervated by luxury, 
Solomon forsjot his higjher duties, and yielded to 

^1 r. . . n • -. T , • , His apoa- 

tne lascmation oi oriental courts. In his harem tasy. 



48 The Jewish Monarchy. [Chap. V. 

were 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines, who turned 
his heart to idolatry. In punishment for his apostasy, God 
declared that his kingdom should be divided, and that his son 
should reign only over the single tribe of Judah, which was 
Bpared him for the sake of his father David. In his latter days 
he was disturbed in his delusions by various adversaries 
who rose up against him — by Hadad, a prince of Edom, and 
Rezon, king of Damascus, and Jeroboam, one of his principal 
officers, who afterward became king of the ten revolted 
tribes. Solomon continued, however, to reign over the united 
tribes for forty years, when he was gathered to his fathers. 

The apostasy of Solomon is the most mournful fall record- 
ed in history, thereby showing that no intellectual power can 
rescue a man from the indulgence of his passions and the sins 
of pride and vainglory. How immeasurably superior to 
His latter ^^"^ ^^^ self-control was Marcus Aurelius, who had 
<iays' the whole world at his feet ! It was women Avho 

estranged him from allegiance to God — the jDrincessesof idola- 
trous nations. Although no mention is made of his repentance, 
the heart of the world will not accept his final impenitence ; 
and we infer from the book of Ecclesiastes, w^ritten when all 
his delusions were dispelled — that sad and bitter and cynical 
composition, — that he was at least finally persuaded that the 
fear of the Lord constitutes the bes^inninq- and the end of all 
wisdom in this probationary state. And we can not but feel 
that he who urged this wisdom upon the young w^ith so 
much.reason and eloquence at last was made to feel its power 
upon his own soul. 

The government of Solomon, nevertheless had proved arbi 
The rebel- trary, and his public works oppressive. The mon- 
boam. arch whom he most resembled, in his taste for 

magnificence, in the splendor of his reign, and in the vexa- 
tions and humiliations of his latter days, was Louis XIV. 
of France, who sowed the seeds of future revolutions. So 
Solomon prepared the way for rebellion, by his grievous 
exactions. Under his son Rehoboam, a vain and frivolous, 
and obstinate young man, who ascended the throne b. c. 9*75, 



Chap. V.] The Princes of JudaJi. 49 

the revolt took place. Ten tribes joined the standard of Jero- 
boam, with eighty thousand fighting men. Judah remained 
faithful to Rehoboam, and the tribe of Benjamin also, after a 
while. These two tribes furnished five hundred thousand 
warriors. 

The Jewish nation is now divided. The descendants of David 
reign at Jerusalem; and the usurper Jeroboam, and his de- 
scendants, at Shechem in Samaria. 

Of the kings of Judah, who reigned in an unbroken dynasty 
for more than five hundred years, until the Captivity, r^^^ ■s.ino's 
the most memorable were Jehoshaphat, during whose °^ Judah. 
long reign of thirty-five years, the wars between Judah and 
Israel terminated ; Amaziah. who gained great victories over 
the Edomites ; Uzziah, who reigned fifty-two years, and restored 
in a measure the glories of Solomon ; Hezekiah, distinguished 
for his zeal against idolatry, and for the restoration of the 
temple worship ; and Josiah, whose piety made him the most re- 
markable of the successors of David. "We cannot enumerate 
the names and deeds of these princes, some of whom were able 
and devout, and many of whom were apostates. Though there 
were periods of great prosperity, though some of the kings 
were worthy of the scepter of David and Solomon, still a rapid 
degeneracy took place in the nation, as may be seen in the writ- 
ings of Isaiah and other prophets, whose voices were unheeded, 
and whose august warnings were disregarded. The idolatries 
and corruptions of the people prepared the way for ruin. In 
vain were the military preparations of Uzziah, in vain the sac- 
rifices of Hezekiah, and his tribute to foreign princes ; the As- 
syrians pressed upon the falling empire, and after them the 
armies of Nebuchadnezzar. Jerusalem fell into the hands of 
foreign enemies, and her inhabitants were carried captive to 
Babylon, including the king himself. No proud nation was 
ever more signally humiliated. The mournful strains of Jere- 
miah but feebly represent the anguish of the Jews as they shed 
their bitter tears on the banks of the Euphrates. The glorious 
monarchy which David had founded, ended by the fall of Jeru- 
salem and the capture of Zedekiah, about the year 586 b. c, 
or 598 B. c. according to other authorities. 



50 The Jewish Monarchy. [Chap. v. 

On the whole, the kings of the dynasty of David were not 
contemptible. Though many of them fell in with the vices of 
their times, several of them were able, pious, and patriotic, and 
recognized in idolatry the sin which was undermining prosperity, 
and did all they could to remove it. The kings of Israel were 
The Kinffs neither so able nor so virtuous. Nineteen sovereigns 
of Israel. reigned over the ten tribes for a period of two hun- 
dred and fifty years, not one of whom was obedient to the laws 
of God, and most of whom perished by assassination. There 
was scarcely a great and good man among them all. Their in- 
famy and inglorious lives remind us of the Merovingian kings. 
There is no record in history more disgraceful than that of the 
reigns of most of these princes — the wicked Ahab, the idolatrous 
Ahaziah, the fierce Jehu, the unfortunate Jehoahaz, the murderer 
Hosea. It was during the short reign of the last usurper that his 
capital, Samaria, was besieged by Shalmanezer, king of Assyria, 
and his people carried captive to Nineveh, and absorbed among 
the nations which composed the Assyrian Empire. We will not 
enter into the details of the Jewish nation during those mourn- 
ful years from the death of Solomon until the Captivity. They 
are recorded in the Book of Chronicles. We read of few great 
feats of heroism, of few grand enterprises, of few successful wars, 
of few great men, and these men were prophets like Elijah and 
Isaiah. It is probable that in Judali there was, on the whole, 
both security and prosperity, but the nation was not faithful to 
its own traditions, and fell continually into idolatry. An awful 
chastisement was sent upon both branches of the monarchy. 
The Jewish captivity is the saddest fact in the history of nations. 
We will now turn to consider briefly those nations into whose 
hands the humiliated descendants of Abraham fell for seventy- 
years. 



CHAPTER YI. 

THE OLD CHALDEAN AND ASSYEIAN MONAECHIES. 

On a great plain, four hundred miles in length and one 
hundred miles in width, forming^ the valley of the „, 

^ o J Tl^e plains 

Euphrates, bounded on the north by Mesopota- of Babylon. 
mia, on the east by. the Tigris, on the south by the Persian 
Gulf, and on the west by the Syrian Desert, was estab- 
lished, at a very early period, the Babylonian monarchy. 
This plain, or valley, contains about twenty-three thousand 
square miles, equal to the Grecian territories. It was desti- 
tute of all strikino; natural features — furnishin2; an unbroken 
horizon. The only interruptions to the view on this level 
plain were sand-hills and the embankments of the river. The 
river, like the Nile, is subject to inundations, though less 
regular than the Nile, and this, of course, deposits a rich allu- 
vial soil. The climate in summer is intensely hot, and in 
winter mild and genial. Wheat here is indigenous, and the 
vine and other fruits abound in rich luxuriance. The land 
was as rich as the valley of the Nile, and was favorable to 
flocks and herds. The river was stocked with fish, and 
every means of an easy subsistence was afforded. 

Into this goodly land a migration from Armenia — the 
primeval seat of man — came at a period when history 
begins. Nimrod and his hunters then gained an ascend- 
ency over the old settlers, and supplanted them — Cushites, 
of the family of Ham, and not the descendants of Shem. 
The beer inning of the kinordom of Nimrod was ^ ^ 

'-' •=' ^ The Tower 

13abel, a tower, or temple, modeled after the one ^^ ^-'^^e^- 
which was left unfinished, or was destroyed. This was 
erected, probably, b. c. 2334. It was square, and arose with 



62 Qhaldean and Assyrian Monarchies, [Chap. vi. 

successive stories, each one smaller than the one below, 
presenting an analogy to the pyramidical form. The high- 
est stage supported the sacred ark. The temple was built 
of burnt brick. Thus the race of Ham led the way in the 
arts in Chaldea as in Egypt, and soon fell into idolatry. 
We know nothing, with certainty, of this ancient monarchy, 
which lasted, it is supposed, two hundred and iifty-eight 
years, from b. c. 2234 to 1976. It was not established until 
after the dispersion of the races. The dynasty of Avhich 
ISTimrod was the founder came to an end during the early 
years of Abraham. 

The first king of the new dynasty is supposed to be Ched- 
orlaomer, though Josephus represents him as a general of 
the Chaldean king who extended the Chaldean conquests 
Thefouncia- *^ Palestine. His encounters with the kings of 
tionof the Sodom, Gomorrah, and others in the vale of Sid- 
monarchy. diYm^ tributary princes, and his slaughter by Abra- 
ham's servants, are recounted in the fourteenth chapter of 
Genesis, and put an end to Chaldean conquests beyond the 
Syrian desert. From his alliance, however, with Tidal, 
king of nations ; Amraphel, king of Shinar ; and Arioch, 
king of Ellasar, we infer that other races, besides the Hamite, 
composed the population of Chaldea, of which the subjects 
of Chedorlaomer were j^re-eminent. 

His empire was subverted by Arabs from the desert, b. c. 
1518; and an Arabian dynasty is supposed to have reigned 
for two hundred and forty-five years. 

This came to an end in consequence of a grand irruption 
Extension of of Assvrians — of Semitic oriorin. " Asshur fGen. 

the kin''- o \ 

iom. ° 10, 11), the son of Shem, built Mneveh," which 
was on the Tigris. The name Assyria came to be extended 
to the whole of Upper Mesopotamia, from the Euphrates 
to the Zagros mountains. This country consisted of undu- 
lating pastures, diversified by woodlands, and watered by 
streams running into the Tigris. Its valleys were rich, its 
hills were beautiful, and its climate was cooler than the 
Chaldean plain. 



Chap. VI.] Nineveh, 58 

It would seem from the traditions preserved by the 
Greeks, that Nineveh was ruled by a viceroy of 

. Nineveh. 

the Babylonian king. This corresponds with the 
book of Genesis, which makes the dynasty Chaldean, while 
the people were Semitic, since the kingdom of Asshur w^as 
derived from that of Nimrod. " Ninus, the viceroy," says 
Smith, "having revolted from the king of Babylon, overruns 
Armenia, Asia Minor, and the shores of the Euxine, as far 
as Tanais, subdues the Medcs and Persians, and makes war 
upon the Bactrians. Semiramis, the wife of one of the chief 
nobles, coming to the camp before Bactria, takes the city by 
a bold stroke. Her courage wins the love of Ninus, and 
she becomes his wife. On his death she succeeds to the 
throne, and undertakes the conquest of India, but is 
defeated." These tAvo sovereigns built Nineveh on a grand 
scale, as well as added to the edifices of Babylon. 

This king was the founder of the northwest palace of 
Nineveh, three hundred and sixty feet long and three hun- 
dred wide, standing on a raised platform overlooking the 
Tigris, with a grand fayade to the north fronting the town, 
and another to the west commanding the river. It was built 
of hewn stone, and its central hall was one hundred and 
twenty feet long and ninety wide. The ceilings were of cedar 
brought from Lebanon. The walls were paneled with slabs 
of marble ornamented with bas-reliefs. The floors were 
paved with stone. (See Rawlinson's Herodotus.) 

All this is tradition, but recent discoveries in cuneiform 
literature shed light upon it. From these, compared with 
the fragments of Berosus, a priest of Babylon in the third cen- 
tury before Christ, and the scattered notices of Scripture his- 
tory, we infer that the dynasty which Belus founded reigned 
more than five hundred years, from 1272 to 747 before Christ. 
Of these kings, Sardanapalus, the most famous, added 
Babylonia, to the Assyrian empire, and built vast architec- 
tural works. He employed three hundred and sixty 
thousand men in the construction of this palace, « payees, 
some of whom were employed in making brick, and others in 



54 Chaldean and Assyrian Monarchies, [Chap. vi. 

cutting timber on Mount Hermon. It covered an area of 
eight acres. Tiie palaces of Nineveh were of great splendor, 
and the scenes portrayed on the walls, as discovered by Mr. 
Layard, lately disinterred from the mounds of earth, repre- 
sent the king as of colossal stature, lighting battles, and 
clothed with symbolic attributes. He appears as a great 
warrior, leading captives, and storming cities, and also in the 
chase, piercing the lion, and pursuing the wild ass. This 
monarch should not be confounded with the Sardanapalus of 
the Greeks, the last of the preceding dynasty. His son, 
Shalmanezer. was also a great prince, and added to the 
dominion of the Assyrian empire. Distant nations paid 
tribute to him, the Phoenicians, the Syrians, the Jews, and 
the Medians beyond the Zagros mountains. He defeated 
. , Benhadad and routed Hazael. His reign ended, 

Assyrian ^ o i 

kings. it is supposed, B. c. 850. Two other kings suc- 

ceeded him, who extended their conquests to the west, the 
last of whom is identified by Smith with Pul, the reigning 
monarch when Jonah visited Nineveh, b. c. 770. 

The next dynasty commences with Tiglath-Pileser H., 
who carried on wars against Babylon and Syria and Israel. 
This was in the time of Ahaz, b. c. 729. 

His son, Shalmanezer, made Hosea, king of Israel, his 
vassal, and reduced the country of the ten tribes to a 
province of his empire, and carried the people away into 
Conquests of Captivity. Hezekiah was also, for a time, his vas- 
shaiumnezer. gal. He was succccded by Sargon, b. c. 721, ac- 
cording to Smith, but 715 b. c, according to others. He 
reigned, as Gesenius thinks, but two or three years ; but fif- 
teen according to Rawlinson, and built that splendid palace, 
the ruins of which, at Khorsabad, have supplied the Louvre 
with its choicest remains of Assyrian antiquity. He was 
one of the greatest of the Assyrian conquerors. He invaded 
Babylon and drove away its kings ; he defeated the Philis- 
tines, took Ashdod and Tyre, received tribute from the 
Greeks at Cyprus, invaded even Egypt, whose king paid 
him tribute, and conquered Media. 



Chap. VI.] Assyrian Kings. 55 

His son, Sennacherib, who came to the throne, b. c. 702, is 
an interestins^ historical personafire, and under him ^ ^ .^ 

^ ^ ... . Sennacherib. 

the Assyrian empire reached its culminating point. 
He added to the palace of Nineveh, and built one which 
exceeded all that had existed before him. No monarch 
surpassed this one in the magnificence of his buildings. He 
erected no less than thirty temples, shining with silver and 
gold. One of the halls of his palace was two hundred and 
twenty feet long, and one hundred and one wide. He made 
use of Syrian, Greek, and Phoenician artists. It is from the 
ruins of this palace at Koyunjik that Mr. Layard made 
those valuable discoveries which have enriched the British 
Museum. He subdued Babylonia, Upper Mesopotamia, 
Syria, Phoenicia, Philistia, Idumsea, and a part of Egypt, 
which, with Media, a part of Armenia, and the old Assyrian 
territory, formed his vast empire — by far greater than the 
Egyptian monarchy at any period. He chastised also the 
Jews for encourao-ino; a revolt amons; the Philistines, and 
carried away captive two hundred thousand people, and only 
abstained from laying siege to Jerusalem by a present from 
Hezekiali of three hundred talents of silver and thirty of 
gold. The destruction of his host, as recorded by Scrij^ture, 
is til ought by some to have occurred in a subsequent 
invasion of Judea, when it was in alliance with Cnimincation 

oftliepuwer 

Egypt. That "he returned to JNineveh and of Nineveh. 
dwelt there " is asserted by Scripture, but only to be as- 
sassinated by his sons, b. c. 680. 

His son Esar-Haddon succeeded him, a warlike monarch, 
who fought the Egyptians, and colonized Samaria with 
Babylonian settlers. He also built the palace of ISTimrod, 
and cultivated art. 

The civilization of the Assyrians shows a laborious and 
patient people. Its chief glory was in architect- Assyrian 
ure. Sculpture was imitated from nature, but had ®^^^^^^^*'""- 
neither the grace nor the ideality of the Greeks. War was 
the grand business of kings, and hunting their pleasure. 
The people were ground down by the double tyranny of 



56 Chaldean and Assyrian Monarchies. [Chap. vi. 

kings and priests. There is little of' interest in the Assyrian 
annals, and what little we know of their life and manners 
is chiefly drawn by inductions from the monuments exca- 
vated by Botta and Layard. The learned treatise of Raw- 
linson sheds a light on the annals of the monarchy, which, 
before the discoveries of Layard, were exceedingly obscure, 
and this treatise has been most judiciously abridged by 
Smith, whom I have followed. It would be interesting to 
consider the mythology of the Assyrians, but it is too com- 
plicated for a work like this. 

Under his successors, the empire rapidly declined. 
Decline of Thoucrli it nominally included the whole of West 

the uion- . „ i t» r t 

archy. em Asia, from the Mediterranean to the desert of 

Iran, and from the Caspian Sea and the mountains of 
Armenia to the Persian Gulf, it was wanting in unity. 
It embraced various kingdoms, and cities, and tribes, which 
simply paid tribute, limited by the power of the king to 
enforce it. The Assyrian armies, which committed so 
great devastations, did not occupy the country they chas- 
tised, as the Romans and Greeks did. Their conquests 
were like those of Tamerlane. As the monarchs became 
effeminated, new powers sprung up, especially Media, which 
ultimately comj)leted the ruin of Assyria, under Cyaxares. 
The last of the monarchs was probably the Sardanapalus of 
the Greeks. 

The decline of this great monarchy was so rapid and 
complete, that even Nineveh, the capital city, was blotted out 
Destruction of existence. 'No traces of it remained in the 
of Nmeveh. ^[^j^q ^f Hcrodotus, and it is only from recent ex- 
cavations that its site is known. Still, it must have been 
a great city. The eastern wall of it, as it now appears 
from the excavations, is fifteen thousand nine hundred feet 
(about three miles) ; but the city jDrobably included vast 
suburbs, with fortified towers, so as to have been equal to 
four hundred and eighty stadias in circumference, or sixty 
miles — the three days' journey of Jonah. It is supposed, 
with the suburbs, to have contained five hundred thousand 



Chap. VI.] Babylon, 57 

people. The palaces of the great were large and magnifi- 
cent; but the dwellings of the people were mean, built 
of brick dried in the sun. The palaces consisted of a 
larofe number of chambers around a central hall, ^ 

o n T Its remains. 

open to the sky, since no pillars are found neces- 
sary to support a roof. No traces of windows are found 
in the walls, which were lined with slabs of coarse marble, 
with cuneiform inscriptions. The facade of the palaces we 
know little about, except that the entrances to them were 
lined by groups of colossal bulls. These are sculptured with 
considerable spirit, but art^ in the sense that the Greeks un- 
derstood it, did not exist. In the ordinary appliances of 
life the Assyrians were probably on a par with the Egyp- 
tians ; but they were debased by savage passions and degrad- 
ing superstitions. They have left nothing for subsequent 
ages to use. Nothing which has contributed to civilization 
remains of their existence. They have furnished no onodels 
of literature, art, or government. 

While Nineveh was rising to greatness, Babylon was 
under an eclipse, and thus lasted six hundred and fifty years. 
It was in the year 1273 that this eclipse began. But a great 
change took place in the era of Narbonassar, b. c. Growth of 
747, when Babylon threatened to secure its inde- ^ ^ ^°' 
pendence, and which subsequently compelled Esar-Haddon, 
the Assyrian monarch, to assume, in his own person, the 
government of Babylon, b. c. 680. 

In 625 B. c. the old Chaldeans recovered their political 
importance, probably by an alliance with the Medes, and 
Nabopolassar obtained undisputed possession of Jhaidean 
Babylon, and founded a short but brilliant dynasty, monarchy. 
He obtained a share of the captives of Nineveh, and 
increased the population of his capital. His son, Nebu- 
chadnezzar, was sent as general against the Egyptians, and 
defeated their king, Necho, reconquered all the lands bordering 
on Egypt, and received the submission of Jehoiakim, of Jeru- 
salem. The death of Nabopolassar recalled his son to Baby- 
lon, and his great reign began b. c. 604. 



58 Chaldean and Assyrian Monarchies. [Chai-. vr. 

It was he who enlarged the capital to so great an extent 
that he may almost be said to have built it. It was in the 
Kebuchad- ^oYVd of a square, on both banks of the Euphrates, 
forty-eight miles in circuit, according to Herodotus, 
with an area of two hundred square miles — large enough 
to support a considerable population by agriculture alone. 
The walls of this city, if we accept the testimony of Herod- 
otus, were three hundred and fifty feet high, and eighty- 
seven feet thick, and were strengthened by two hundred 
and fifty towers, and pierced with one hundred gates of 
brass. The river was lined by quays, and the two parts of 
the city were united by a stone bridge, at each end. of 
which was a fortified palace. The greatest work of the 
Magnifi. royal architect was the new palace, with the ad- 

cence oi , .*' , ^ -i ' 

Babylon. joining hanging garden — a series of terraces to 
resemble hills, to please his Median queen. This palace, 
with the garden, was eight miles in circumference, and 
splendidly decorated with statues of men and animals. Here 
the mighty monarch, after his great military expeditions, 
solaced himself, and dreamed of omnipotence, until a sudden 
stroke of madness — that form which causes a man to mistake 
himself for a brute animal — sent him from his luxurious halls 
into the gardens he had planted. His madness lasted seven 
years, and he died, after a reign of forty-three years, b. c. 
561, and Evil-Merodach, his son, reigned in his stead. 

He was put to death two years after, for lawlessness an4 
intemperance, and was succeeded by his brother-in-law and 
murderer, Neriglissar. So rapid was the decline of the 
Fall of the monarchy, that after a few brief reigns Babjdon 
monarchy. ^^^^ entered by the army of Cyrus, and the last 
king, Bel-shar-utzur, or Belshazzar, associated with his father 
Nabonadius, was slain, b. c. 538. Thus ended the Chaldean 
monarchy, seventeen hundred and ninety-six years after the 
building of Babel by Nimrod, according to the chronology 
it is most convenient to assume. 



Il 



CHAPTEE VII. 

THE EMPIRE OF THE MEDES AND PERSIANS. 

The third of the great Oriental monarchies brought in 
contact with the Jews was that of the Medes and Persians, 
which arose on the dissolution of the Assyrian and Babylo- 
nian empires. The nations we have hitherto The country 
alluded to were either Hamite or Shemite. But Jjf^e?.'^'^ 
our attention is now directed to a different race, ^^^"s- 
the descendants of Japhet. Madai, the third son of Japhet, 
was the progenitor of the Medes, whose territory extended 
from the Caspian Sea on the north, to the mountains of Per- 
sia on the south, and from the highlands of Armenia and 
the chain of Zagros on the west, to the great desert of Iran 
on the east. It comprised a great variety of climate, and 
was intersected by mountains whose valleys were fruitful in 
corn and fruits. " The finest part of the country is an ele- 
vated region inclosed by the offshoots of the Armenian 
mountains, and surrounding the basin of the great lake 
Urumiyeh, four thousand two hundred feet above the sea, and 
the valleys of the ancient Mardus and the Araxes, the north- 
ern boundary of the land. In this mountain region stands 
Tabriz, the delightful summer seat of the modern Persian 
shahs. The slopes of the Zagros furnish excellent pasture ; 
and here were reared the famous liorses which the an- 
cients called Nisaean. The eastern districts are flat and 
pestilential, where they sink down to the shores of the Cas-' 
plan Sea ; rugged and sterile where they adjoin the desert 
of Iran." The people who inhabited this country were 
hardy and bold, and were remarkable for their JiJ^aracter^^of 
horsemanship. They were the greatest, warriors the people. 



60 Empire of the Medes and Persians. [Chap. vii. 

of the ancient world, until tlie time of the Greeks. They 
were called Aryans by Herodotus. They had spread over 
the highlands of Western Asia in the primeval ages, and 
formed A^arious tribes. The first notice of this Aryan (or 
Arian) race, appears in the inscrij)tions on the black obelisk 
of Nimrod, b. c. 880, from which it would appear that this 
was about the period of the immigration into Media, and 
Early kings ^^^7 wcrc then cxposed to the aggressions of the 
of Media. Assyrians. " The first king who menaced their in- 
dependence was the monarch whose victories are recorded on 
the black obelisk in the British Museum." He made a raid 
into, rather than a conquest of, the Median country. Sargon, 
the third monarch of the Lower Emj^ire, efiected something 
like a conquest, and peopled the cities which he founded with 
Jewish captives from Samaria, b. c. 710. Media thus became 
the most eastern province of his empire, but the conquest of 
it was doubtless incomplete. The Median princes paid trib- 
ute to the kings of Nineveh, or withheld it, according to 
their circumstances. 

According to Ctesias, the Median monarchy commenced 
B. c. 875 ; but Herodotus, with greater probable accuracy, 
places the beginning of it b. c. 708. The revolt of Media 
from Assyria was followed by the election of Deio- 
ces, who reigned fifty-three years. The history of 
this kino: is drawn throus:h Grecian sources, and can not much 
be depended upon. According to the legends, the seven 
tribes of the Medes, scattered over separate villages, suffered 
all the evils of anarchy, till the reputation of Deioces made 
him the arbiter of their disputes. He then retired into pri- 
vate life ; anarchy returned, a king was called for, and Deioces 
was elected. He organized a despotic power, which had its 
central seat in Ecbatana, which he made his capital, built 
upon a hill, on the summit of which was the royal palace, 
where the king reigned in seclusion, transacting all business 
through spies, informers, petitions, and decrees. Such is 
the account which Rawlinson gives, and which Smith fo3 
lows. 



Chap. VII.] Cyaxares and the Cimmerians. 61 

The great Median kingdom really began with Cyaxares, 
about the year b. c. 633, when the Assyrian empire 
was waning. He emerges from the obscurity like Cyaxares. 
Attila and Gengis Khan, and other eastern conquerors, at 
the head of irresistible hordes, sweeps all away before him, 
and builds up an enormous power. This period was distin- 
guished by a great movement among the Turanian races 
(Cimmerians), living north of the Danube, which, according 
to Herodotus, made a great irruption into Asia Minor, 
where some of the tribes effected a permanent settlement ; 
while the Scythians, from Central Asia, overran Media, crossed 
the Zagros mountains, entered Mesopotamia, passed through 
Syria to Egypt, and held the dominion of Western Asia, till 
expelled by Cyaxares. He only established his new king- 
dom after a severe conflict between the Scythian and Aryan 
races, which had hitherto shared the possession of the table- 
lands of Media. 

From age to age the Turanian races have pressed forward 
to occupy the South, and it was one of these great move- 
ments which Cyaxares opposed, and opposed sue- rpj^^irru - 
cessfullv — the first recorded in history. These no- ^o" ^^}^^ 

•> ... Turamau 

mads of Tartary, or Scythian tribes, which overran races. 
Western Asia in the seventh century before Christ, under the 
new names of Huns, Avari, Bulgarians, Magyars, Turks, Mon- 
gols, devastated Europe and Asia for fifteen successive cen- 
turies. They have been the scourge of the race, and they 
commenced their incursions before Grecian history begins. 

Learning from these Scythian invaders many arts, not 
before practiced in war, such as archery and cavalry move- 
ments, Cyaxares was prepared to extend his em- conquests of 
pire to the west over Armenia and Asia Minor, as Cyaxares. 
far as the river Halys. He made war in Lydia with the 
father of Croesus. But before these conquests were made, 
he probably captured ISTineveh and destroyed it, b. c. 625. 
He was here assisted by the whole force of the Babylonians, 
under Nabopolassar, an old general of the Assyrians, but 
who had rebelled. In reward he obtained, for his son, Nebu- 



62 Empire of the Medes and Persians. [Chap. vii. 

chadnezzar, the hand of the daughter of Cyaxares. The last 
of the Assyrian monarchs, whom the Greeks have called 
Sardanapalus, burned Mmself in his palace rather than fall 
into the hands of the Median conqueror. 

The fall of Nineveh led to the independence of Babylon, 
and its wonderful growth, and also to the conquests of the 
War with Medcs as far as Lydia to the west. The war with 
Lydia. Lydia lasted six years, and was carried on with vari- 

ous success, until peace was restored by the mediation of a 
Babylonian prince. The reason that peace was made was 
an eclipse of the sun, which happened in the midst of a great 
battle, which struck both armies with superstitious fears. 
On the conclusion of peace, the son of the Median king, 
Astyages, married the daughter of the Lydian monarch, 
Alyattes, and an alliance was formed between Media and 
Lydia. 

At this time Lydia comprised nearly all of Asia Minor, west 
The Lydian of the Halys. The early history of this country is 
monarchy, jnyolved in obscurity. The dynasty on the throne, 
when invaded by the Medes, was founded by Gyges, b. c. 
724, who began those aggressions on the Grecian colonies 
which were consummated by Croesus. Under the reign of 
Ardys, his successor, Asia Minor was devastated by the 
Cimmerians, a people who came from the regions north of 
the Black Sea, between the Danube and the Sea of Azov, 
being driven away by an inundation of Scythians, like that 
which afterward desolated Media. These Cimmerians, having 
burned the great temple of Diana, at Ephesus, and de- 
stroyed the capital city of Sardis, were expelled from Lydia 
by Alyattes, the monarch against whom Cyaxares had made 
war. 

Cyaxares reigned forty years, and was succeeded by Asty- 
ages, B. c. 593, whose history is a total blank, till near 
the close of his long reign of thirty-five years, when the Per- 
sians under Cyrus arose to power. He seems to have 
resigned himself to the ordinary condition of Ori- 
ental kings — to effeminacy and luxury — brought 



Chap. VIL] The Persians. 63 

about by the prosperity which he inherited. He was contem- 
porary with Croesus, the famous king of Lydia, whose life 
has been invested with so much romantic interest by Herod- 
otus — the first of the Asiatic kings who commenced hostile 
acrg-ression on the Greeks. After making; himself master of 
all the Greek States of Asia Minor, he combated a power 
which was destined to overturn the older monarchies of the 
East — that of the Persians — a race closely connected with the 
Medes in race, language, and religion. 

The Persians first appear in history as a hardy, warlike 
people, simple in manners and scornful of luxury. They 
were uncultivated in art and science, but possessed great wit, 
and a poetical imagination. They lived in the mountainous 
region on the southwest of Iran, where the great plain 
descends to the Persian Gulf. The sea-coast is hot and arid, 
as well as the eastern reg-ion where the mountains 
pass into the table-land of Iran. h>etween these history of 

. . the Per- 

tracts, resembling the Arabian desert, lie the high sians. 
lands at the extremity of the Zagros chain. These rugged 
regions, rich in fruitful valleys, are favorable to the cultiva- 
tion of corn, of the grape, and fruits, and afford excellent 
pasturage for flocks. In the northern part is the beautiful 
plain of Shiraz, which forms the favorite residence of the 
modern shahs. In the valley of Bend-amir was the old capi- 
tal of Persepolis, whose ruins attest the magnificent palaces 
of Darius and Xerxes. Persia proper was a small country, 
three hundred miles from north to south, and two hundred 
and eighty from east to west, inhabited by an Aryan race, 
who brought with them, from the country beyond the 
Indus, a distinctive religion, language, and political institu- 
tions. Their language was closely connected with the Aryan 
dialects of India, and the tongues of modern Europe. 
Hence the Persians were noble types of the great Indo- 
European family, whose civilization has spread throughout 
the world. Their religion was the least corrupted of the 
ancient races, and was marked by a keen desire to arrive 
at truth, and entered, in the time of the Gnostics, into the 



64 Empire of the Medes and Persians, [Chap. vii. 

speculations of the Christian fathers, of whom Origen was 
the type. Their teachers were the Magi, a wise and learned 
caste, some of whom came to Jerusalem in the time of 
Herod, guided by the star in the East, to institute inquiries 
as to the birth of Christ. They attempted to solve the 
mysteries of creation, but their elemental principle of 
religion was worship of all the elements, especially of fire. 
But the Persians also believed in the two principles of good 
and evil, which were called the principle of dualism, and 
which they brought from India. It is thought by Rawlin- 
son that the Persians differed in their religion from the 
primeval people of India, whose Vedas, or sacred books, 
were based on monotheism, in its spiritual and personal 
form, and that, for the heresy of "dualism," they were com- 
pelled to migrate to the West. The Medes, Avith whom they 
subsequently became associated, were inclined to the old 
elemental worship of nature, which they learned from the 
Turanian or Scythic population. 

The great man among the Persians was Zoroaster — or 

Zerdusht, born, probably, b. c. 589. He is immortal, not 

from his personal history, the details of which we 

do not know, but from his ideas, which became the 

basis of the faith of the Persians. He stamped his mind on 

the nation, as Mohammed subsequently did ujDon Arabia. 

His central principle was " dualism" — the two powers of 

good and evil — the former of which was destined ultimately 

to conquer. But with this dualistic creed of the old Persian, 

- he also blended a reformed Magian worship of the elements, 

which had gained a footing among the Chaldean priests, and 

which originally came from the Scythic invaders. Magism 

could not have come from the Semitic races, whose original 

religjion was theism, like that of Melchizedek and 

His religion. ^ . t t 

Abraham; nor from the Japhetic races, or Indo- 
European, whose worship was polytheism — that of personal 
gods under distinct names, like Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva. 
The first to yield to this Magism were the Medes, who 
adopted the religion of older settlers, — the Scythic tribes, 



Chap. viL] Reign of Cyrus, 65 

their subjects, — and which faith superseded the old Aryan 
religion. 

The Persians, the flower of the Aryan races, character of 
were peculiarly military in all their habits and t^^^^^^ians. 
aspirations. Their nobles, mounted on a famous breed of 
horses, composed the finest cavalry in the world. ISTor 
was their infantry inferior, armed with lances, shields, and 
bow^s. Their military spirit was kept alive by their moun- 
tain life and simple habits and strict discipline. 

Astyages, we have seen, was the last of the Median kings. 
He married his daughter, according to Herodotus, to Cam- 
byses, a Persian noble, preferring him to a higher alliance 
among the Median princes, in order that a dream might 
not be fulfilled that her offspring should conquer Asia. On 
the return of the dream he sought to destroy the child she 
was about to bear, but it was preserved by a herdsman ; and 
when the child was ten years of age he was chosen Rise ^f 
by his playfellows on the mountains to be their ^^^"^• 
king. As such he caused the son of a noble Median to be 
-ecourged for disobedience, who carried his complaint to 
Astyages. The Median monarch finds out his pedigree from 
the herdsman, and his officer, Harpagus, to whom he had 
intrusted the commission for his destruction. He invites, 
in suppressed anger, this noble to a feast, at which he serves 
up the flesh of his own son. Harpagus, in revenge, conspires 
with some discontented nobles, and invites Cyrus, this boy- 
king, now the bravest of the youths of his age and country, 
to a revolt. Cyrus leads his troops against Astyages, and 
gains a victory, and also the person of the sovereign, and 
his great reign began, b. c. 558. 

The dethronement of Astyages caused a war between 
Lydia and Persia. Croesus hastens to attack the 
usurper and defend his father-in-law. He forms 
a league with Babylonia and Egypt. Thus the three most 
powerful monarchs of the world are arrayed against Cyrus, 
who is prepared to meet the confederation. Croesus is de- 
feated, and retreats to his capital, Sardis ; and the next 
5 



66 Empire of the Medes and Persians. [Chap. VII. 

spring, while summoning his allies, is attacked unexpectedly 
by Cyrus, and is again defeated. He now retires to Sardis. 
which is strongly fortified, and the city is besieged by the 
Persians, and falls after a brief siege. Croesus himself is 
s^oared, and in his adversity gives wise counsel to his con- 
queror. 

Cyrus leaves a Lydian in command of the captured city, 
and departs for home. A revolt ensues, which leads to a 
collision between Persia and the Greek colonies, and the sub- 
jection of the Grecian cities by Harpagus, the genernl of 
Cyrus. Then followed the conquest of Asia Minor, 

His frreat "^ ^ ^ ^ 

empire. which required several years, and was conducted by 

the generals of Cyrus. He was required in Media, to con- 
solidate his power. He then extended his conquests to the 
East, and subdued the whole j)lateau of Iran, to the moun 
tains which divided it from the Indus. Thus fifteen years 
of splendid military successes passed before he laid siege to 
Babylon, b. c. 538. 

On the fall of that great city Cyrus took up his resi- 
dence in it, as the imperial capital of his vast dominion.- 
He makes Here lie issued his decree for the return of the 

Babylon his . . , t /• i ^ '^ -t 

capital. Jews to their ancient territory, and tor the rebuild- 

ing of their temple, after seventy years' captivity. This de- 
cree was dictated by the sound military policy of maintain- 
ing the frontier territory of Palestine against his enemies in 
Asia Minor, which he knew the Jews would do their best to 
preserve, and this policy he carried out with noble generosity, 
and returned to the Jews the captured vessels of silver and 
gold which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away ; and for more 
than two centuries Persia had no warmer friends and allies 
than the obedient and loyal subjects of Judea. 

Cyrus fell in battle while fighting a tribe of Scythians at 
the east of the Caspian Sea, b. c. 529. He was the great- 
est general that the Oriental world ever produced, and well 
Greatness of may raiik with Alexander himself. His reig^n of 

the reign of -^ . • - 

Cyru?i. twenty-nine years was one constant succession ol 

wars, in which he was uniformly successful, and in which 



Chap. VII.] Camhyses. 67 

his success was only equaled by his magnanimity. His em- 
pire extended from the Indus to the Hellespont and the 
Syrian coast, far greater than that of either Assyria or Baby- 
lonia. 

The result of the Persian conquest on the conquerors 
themselves was to produce habits of excessive Degeneracy 
luxury, a wide and vast departure from their gfan^coi^''^' 
original mode of life, which enfeebled the empire, luerors. 
and prepared the way for a rapid decline. 

Cambyses, however, the son and successor of Cyras, car- 
ried out his policy and conquests. He was, unlike 
his father, a tyrant and a sensualist, but possessed 
considerable military genius. He conquered Phoenicia, and 
thus became master of the sea as well as of the land. He then 
quarreled with Amasis, the king of Egypt, and subdued his 
kingdom. 

Like an eastern despot, he had, while in Egypt, in an hour 
of madness and caprice, killed his brother, Smerdis. It hap- 
pened there was a MaHan who bore a strikino; re- 

11 1 -1 -1 . TTr. ■, 1 7 , His fellies. 

semblance to the murdered prmce. With the help 
of his brother, whom the king had left governor of his house- 
hold, this Magian usurped the throne of Persia, while Cam- 
byses was absent, the death of the true Smerdis having been 
carefully concealed. 

The news of the usurpation reached Cambyses while 
returning from an expedition to Syria. An accidental 

wound from the point of his sword proved Usurpation 

of the Ma- 
mortal, B. c. 522. But Cambyses, about to die, gians. 

called his nobles around him, and revealed the murder of his 

brother, and exhorted them to prevent the kingdom falling 

into the hands of the Medes. He left no children. 

The usurper proved a tyrant. A conspiracy of Persians 

followed, headed by the descendants of Cyrus ; and Darius, 

the chief of these — the son of Hystaspes, became king of 

Persia, after Smerdis had reiejned seven months. ^ ^ 

' * Till Darlno. 

But this reign, brief as it was, had restored the old 

Magian priests to power, who had, by their magical aTts, 



6S I^inpire of the Medes and Persians. [Chap. vii. 

great popularity with the people, not only Medes, but 
Persians. 

Darius restored the temples and the worship which the 
His con- Magian priests had overthrown, and establishe<^ 
quests. |-]^^, religion of Zoroaster. The early years of his 

reign were disturbed by rebellions in Babylonia and Media, 
but these were suppressed, and Darius prosecuted the con- 
quests which Cyrus had begun. He invaded both India and 
Scythia, while his general, Megabazus, subdued Tlirace and 
the Greek cities of the Hellespont. 

The king of Macedonia acknowledged the supremacy of 
Bis great- the great monarch of Asia, and gave the customary 
present of earth and water. Darius returned at 
length to Susa to enjoy the fruit of his victories, and the 
pleasures which his great empire aiforded. For twenty 
years his glories were unparalleled in the East, and his life 
was tranquil. 

But in the year b. c. 500, a great revolt of the Ionian cities 
took place. It was su^Dpressed, at first, but the Atticans, 
at Marathon, defeated the Persian warriors, b. c. 490, and 
The revolt tiic great victory changed the whole course of 

of the Ionian . • • -rx • t 

cities. Asiatic couquest. Darius made vast preparations 

for a new invasion of Greece, but died before they were 
completed, after a reign of thirty-six years, b. c. 485, leaving 
a name greater than that of any Oriental sovereign, except 
Cyrus. 

Unfortunately for him and his dynasty, he challenged the 
spirit of western liberty, then at its height among the cities 
of Greece. His successor, Xerxes, inherited his 
power, but not his genius, and rashly provoked 
Europe by new invasions, while he lived ingloriously in his 
seraglio. He was murdered in his palace, the fate of the 
great tyrants of eastern monarchies, for in no other way 
than by the assassin's dagger could a change of administra- 
tion take place — a poor remedy, perhaps, but not worse than 
the disease itself. This tyrant was the Ahasuerus of the 
Scriptures. 



Chap. VII.] Fall of the Persian JEmpire. 69 

We need not follow the fortunes of the imbecile princes 
who succeeded Xerxes, for the Persian monarchy Fate of the 

1 T T •! /> 11 i*ersian em- 

was now degenerate and weakened, and easily fell pire. 
under the dominion of Alexander, who finally overthrew the 
power of Persia, b. c. 330. 

And this was well. The Persian monarchy was an abso- 
lute despotism, like that of Turl^ey, and the monarch not 
only controlled the actions of his subjects, but was the owner 
even of their soil. He delegated his power to satraps, who 
ruled during his pleasure, but whose rule was disgraced by 
every form of extortion — sometimes punished, however, 
when it became outrageous and notorious. The satraps, 
like pashas, were virtually independent princes, and exer- 
cised all the rights of sovereigns so long as they j^g ciiarac- 
secured the confidence of the supreme monarch, teristics. 
and regularly remitted to him the tribute which was im- 
posed. The satrajDies were generally given to members of 
the royal family, or to great nobles connected with it by 
marriage. The monarch governed by no council, and the 
laws centered in the principle that the will of the king was 
supreme. The only check which he feared was assassination, 
and he generally spent his life in the retirement of his serag- 
lio, at Susa, Babylon, or Ecbatana. 

The Persian empire was the last of the great monarchies 
of the Oriental world, and these flourished for a period of two 
thousand years. When nations became wicked or extended 
over a large territory, the patriarchal rule of the primitive 
ages no longer proved an efficient government. Men must 
be ruled, however, in some way, and the irresponsible des- 
potism of the East, over all the different races, Semitic, 
Hamite, and Japhetic, was the government which Provi- 
dence provided, in a state of general rudeness, or pastoral sim- 
plicity, or oligarchal usurpations. The last great monarchy 
was the best ; it was that which was exercised by the de- 
scendants of Japhet, according to the prediction that he 
should dwell in the tents of Shem, and Canaan should be hia 
servant. 



70 Empire of the Medes and Persians. [Chap. vir. 

VYe might here allude to the various kingdoms of Western 
Asia which were subdued by the Persians. But we should 
have a mere record of names. There were no great events 
which had a marked influence on the progress of the human 
race. The most powerful of the nations of Asia Minor were the 
Lydians, whose capital was Sardis. They were celebrated for 
their music, of which the chief instruments were the flute and 
the harp. The greatest of their kings was Croesus, conquered 
by Cyrus. The next nation in power were the Phrygians, dis- 
tinguished for flocks and agriculture. But there were no great 
historic names among them. So we pass to consider the history 
of that remarkable people who conquered not merely the Per- 
sians, but all the known Asiatic nations^ after giving a short ab- 
stract of Jewish history until the extinction of the line of 
David. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

JEWISH HISTOET TEOM THE BABYLOIHAN CAPTIVITY TO THE 

BIETH OF CHEIST. ^THE HIGH PEIESTS AND THE ASMONEAN 

AND IDUMEAN KINGS. 

We have seen how the ten tribes were carried captive to 
Assyria, on the fall of Samaria, by Shalmanezer, Absorption 
B. c. 721. From that time history loses sight of tribes. 
the ten tribes, as a distinct people. They were probably 
absorbed with the nations among whom they settled, 
althonofh imao-ination has loved to follow them into in-ac- 
cessible regions where they await their final restoration. 
But there are no reliable facts which justify this conclusion. 
They may have been the ancestors of the Christian converts 
afterward found among the IsTestorians. They may have 
retained in the East, to a certain extent, some of their old 
institutions. But nothing is known with certainty. All is 
vain conjecture respecting their ultimate fortunes. 

The Jews of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin never 
entirely departed from their ancient faith, and TheJewsat 
their monarchs reigned in regular succession till ^'^'^yio^- 
the captivity of the family of David. They were not carried 
to Babylon for one hundred and twenty-three years after 
the dispersion of the ten tribes, b. c. 598. 

During the captivity, the Jews still remained a separate 
people, governed by their own law and religion. It is sujd- 
posed that they were rather colonists than captives, and 
were allowed to dwell together in considerable bodies — -that 
they were not sold as slaves, and by degrees became pos- 
sessed of considerable wealth. What region, from time im- 
memorial, has not witnessed their thrift and their love of 
money ? Well may a Jew say, as well as a Greek, " Quce 



72 From the Captivity to Christ. [Chap. viii. 

regio in terris nostri non plena labor is.'''' Taking the advice 
of Jeremiah they built houses, planted gardens, and submit- 
ted to their fate, even if they bewailed it " by the rivers of 
Babylon," in such sad contrast to their old mountain homes. 
They had the free enjoyment of their religion, and were sub- 
jected to no general and grievous religious persecutions. 
And some of their noble youth, like Daniel, were treated with 
great distinction during the captivity. Daniel had bee 
transported to Babylon before Jerusalem fell, as 
hostage, among others, of the fidelity of their king, 
These young men, from the highest Jewish families, were 
educated in all the knowledge of the Babylonians, as Joseph 
had been in Egyptian wisdom. They were the equals of the 
Chaldean priests in knowledge of astronomy, divination, 
and the interpretation of dreams. And though these young 
hostages were maintained at the public expense, and perhaps 
in the royal palaces, they remembered their distressed coun- 
trymen, and lived on the simplest fare. It was as an inter- 
preter of dreams that Daniel maintained his influence in tho 
Babylonian court. Twice was he summoned by Nebuchad- 
nezzar, and once by Belshazzar to interpret the handwrit- 
ing on tho wall. And under the Persian monarch, when 
Babylon fell, Daniel became a vizier, or satrap, with great 
dignity and power. 

When the seventy years' captivity, which Jeremiah had 
predicted, came to an end, the empire of theMedes and Per- 
sians was in the hands of Cyrus, under whose sway he 
enjoyed the same favor and rank that he did under Darius, 
or any of the Babylonian princes. The miraculous deliver- 
ance of this great man from the lion's den, into which he had 
been thrown from the intrio;ues of his enemies and the unal- 
terable law of the Medes, resulted in a renewed exaltation. 
Josephus ascribes to Daniel one of the noblest and most 
Hisbeautifu] ii^teresting characters in Jewish history, a great 
character. ^w\{ jn architecture, and it is to him that the splen- 
did mausoleum at Ecbatana is attributed. But Daniel, with 
all his honors, was not corrupted, and it was probably 



CiiAp. Yiii.] Return of the Jeivs, 73 

through his influence, as a grand vizier, that the exiled Jews 
obtained from Cyrus the decree which restored thcni to their 
beloved land. 

The number of the returned Jews, under Zerubbabel, a 
descendant of the kinsjs of Judah, were fortv-two 

1 _ , , n T -, . " Ketum of 

tnousand three hundred and sixty men — a great thejows. 
and joyful caravan — but small in number compared with 
the Israelites who departed from Egypt witli Moses. On 
their arrival in their native laud, they were joined by 
great numbers of the common people who had remahied. 
They bore with them the sacred vessels of the temi3le, 
which Cyrus generously restored. They arrived in the 
spring of the year b. c, 536, and immediately made prep- 
arations for the restoration of the temple ; not under those 
circumstances which enabled Solomon to concentrate the 
wealth of Western Asia, but under great discouragements 
and the pressure of poverty. The temple was built on the 
old foundation, but was not completed till the sixth year of 
Darius Hystaspes; b. c. 515, and then Avithout the ancient 
splendor. 

It was dedicated with great joy and magnificence, but 
the sacrifice of one hundred bullocks, two hundred Dedication 
rams, four hundred lambs, and twelve goats, pie. 
formed a sad contrast to the hecatombs which Solomon 
had offered. 

Nothing else of importance marked the history of the 
dependent, impoverished, and humiliated Jews, who had 
returned to the country of their ancestors durino; the reio*n 
of Darius Hystaspes. 

It was under his successor, Xerxes, him M'ho commanded 
the Hellespont to be scourged — that mad, luxurious, effem- 
inated monarch, who is called in Scripture Ahasuerus, — that 
Mordecai figured in the court (tf Persia, and Esther was 
exalted to the throne itself. It was in the seventh Mordecu 

p.. . , ,..,. ,. , and Ahasue- 

yearoi his reign that this inglorious king returned, rus. 
discomfited, from the invasion of Greece. Abandoning 
himself to the pleasures of his harem, he marries the Jewess 



74 From the Captivity to Christ, [Chap. vni. 

maiden, who is the instrument, under Providence, of avert- 
ing the greatest calamity with which the Jews were 
ever threatened. Haman, a descendant of the Amalekitish 
kings, is the favorite minister and grand vizier of the 
Persian monarch. Offended with Mordecai, his rival in 
imperial favor, the cousin of the queen, he intrigues for 
the wholesale slaughter of the Jews wherever they were 
to be found, promising the king ten thousand talents 
of silver from the confiscation of Jewish property, and 
which the king needed, impoverished by his unsuccessful 
expedition into Greece. He thus obtains a decree from 
Ahasuerus for the general massacre of the Jewish nation, 
in all the provinces of the empire, of which Judea was one. 
The Jews are in the utmost consternation, and look to 
Mordecai. His hope is based on Esther, the queen, who 
might soften, by her fascinations, the heart of the king. She 
assumes the responsibility of saving her nation at the peril 
of her own life — a deed of not extraordinary self-devotion, 
but requiring extraordinary tact. What anxiety must have 
pressed the soul of that Jewish woman in the task she un- 
dertook ! What a responsibility on her unaided shoulders ! 
But she dissembles her grief, her fear, her anxiety, and 
appears before the king radiant in beauty and loveliness. 
The Btor f '^^^ goldcu sccptrc is extended to her by her weak 
Esther. and cruel husband, though arrayed in the pomp 

and power of an Oriental monarch, before whom all bent 
the knee, and to whom, even in his folly, he appears as 
demio'od. She does not venture to tell the kinsc her wishes. 
The stake is too great. She merely invites him to a grand 
banquet, with his minister Haman. Both king and minis- 
ter are ensnared by the cautious queen, and the result is the 
disgrace of Haman, the elevation of Mordecai, and the 
deliverance of the Jew» from the fatal sentence — not a 
perfect deliverance, for the decree could not be changed, 
but the Jews were warned and allowed to defend them- 
selves, and they slew seventy-five thousand of their enemies. 
The act of vengeance was followed by the execution of 



Chap. VIII.] I^zra and Nehemiah, 75 

the ten sons of Haman, and Mordecai became the real gov- 
ernor of Persia. We see in this story the caprice which 
governed the actions, in general, of Oriental kings, and 
their own slavery to their favorite wives. The charms of a 
woman effect, for evil or good, what conscience, and reason, 
and policy, and wisdom united can not do. Esther is justly 
a favorite with the Christian and Jewish world ; but Vashti^ 
the proud queen who, with true woman's dignity, refuses 
to grace with her presence the saturnalia of an intoxicated 
monarch, is also entitled to our esteem, although she paid 
the penalty of disobedience; and the foolish edict which 
the king promulgated, that all women should implicitly 
obey their husbands, seems to indicate that unconditional 
obedience was not the custom of the Persian women. 

The reign of Artaxerxes, the successor of Xerxes, was 
favorable to the Jews, for Judea was a province „ , . 

' i- Eeturn to 

of the Persian empire. In the seventh vear of Palestine of 

. ^ •' Jews under 

his reign, b. c. 458, a new migration of Jews from Ezra. 
Babylonia took place, headed by Ezra, a man of high rank 
at the Persian court. He was empowered to make a colleo 
tion among the Jews of Babylonia for the adornment ol 
the temple, and he came to Jerusalem laden with treas- 
ures. He was, however, affected by the sight of a custom 
which had grown up, of intermarriage of the Jews with 
adjacent tribes. He succeeded in causing the foreign wives 
to be repudiated, and the old laws to be enforced which 
separated the Jews from all other nations. And it is 
probably this stern law, which prevents the Jews from mar- 
riage with foreigners, that has preserved their nationality, 
in all their wanderings and misfortunes, more than any 
other one cause. 

A renewed commission granted to Kehemiah, b. c. 445, 
resulted in a fresh immigration of Jews to Palestine, in 
spite of all the opposition which the Samaritan and other 
nations made. N'ehemiah was cup-bearer to the 

. ^ Nehemian. 

Persian king, and devoted to the Persian interests. 

At that time Persia had suffered a fatal blow at the battle 



76 From the Captivity to Christ. [Chap. viii. 

of Cindus, and among the liumiliating articles of peace with 
the Athenian admiral was the stipulation that the Persians 
should not advance within three days' journey of the sea. 
Jerusalem being at this distance, was an important post to 
hold, and the Persian court saw the wisdom of intrusting 
its defense to faithful allies. In spite of all obstacles, Nehe- 
miah succeeded, in fifty-two days, in restoring the old walls 
and fortifications ; the whole population, of every rank and 
order, having devoted themselves to the work. Moreover, 
contributions for the temple continued to flow into the 
treasury of a once opulent, but now impoverished and 
decimated people. After providing for the security of 
Eebniiding the Capital and the adornment of the temple, the 

of Jeiusa- , - f. 1 . T 1 • 

lem. leaders oi the nation turned their attention to 

the compilation of the sacred books and the restoration of 
religion. Many important literary works had been lost 
during their captivity, including the work of Solomon on 
natural history, and the ancient book of Jasher. But the 
books on the law, the historical books, the prophetic writ- 
ings, the Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Songs of 
Solomon, were collected and copied. The law, revised and 
corrected, was publicly read by Ezra ; the Feast of Taber- 
„ . , , nacles was celebrated with considerable splendor ; 

Revival of ^ ' 

ancient laws, and a renewed covenant was made by the people 
to keep the law, to observe the Sabbath, to avoid idolatry, 
and abstain from intermarriage with strangers. The Jewish 
constitution was restored, and INTehemiali, a Persian satrap 
in reality, lived in a state of considerable magnificence, en- 
tertaining the chief leaders of the nation, and reforming all 
disorders. Jerusalem gradually regained political import- 
ance, while the country of the ten tribes, though filled with 
people, continued to be the seat of idolaters. 

On the death of Nehemiah, b. c. 415, the history of the Jews 
becomes obscure, and we catch only scattered glimpses of the I 
state of the country, till the accession of Antiochus Epiph- 
anes, b. c. 175, when the Syrian monarch had erected a 
new kingdom on the ruins of the Persian empire. For more 



Chap. Yiii.] Alexandria. 77 

than two centuries, when the Greeks and Romans flourished 
Jewish liistory is a blank, with here and there obscurity of 
some scattered notices and traditions which Jose- t.l'ry** utter" 
plius has recorded. The Jews, living in vassalage ^'^^'*'""'^^- 
to the successors of Alexander during this interval, had be- 
come animated by a martial spirit, and the Maccabaic wars 
elevated them into sufficient importance to become allies of 
flvome — the new conquering power, destined to subdue the 
world. During this period the Jewish character assumed the 
hard, stubborn, exclusive. cast which it has ever since main- 
tained — an intense hostility to polytheism and all Gentile 
influences. The Jewish Scriptures took their present shape, 
and the Apocryphal books came to light. The sects of the 
Jews arose, like Pharisees and Sadducees, and religious and 
political parties exhibited an unwonted fierceness and intol- 
erance. While the Greeks and Romans were absorbed in 
wars, the Jews perfected their peculiar economy, and grew 
again into political importance. The country, by means of 
irrigation and cultivation, became populous and fertile, and 
jDoetry and the arts regained their sway. The people took 
but little interest in the political convulsions of neighboring 
nations, and devoted themselves quietly to the development 
of their own resources. The captivity had cured them of 
war, of idolatry., and warlike expeditions. 

During this two hundred years of obscurity, but real 
growth, unnoticed and unknown by other nations, a new cap- 
ital had arisen in Esiypt : Alexandria became a Obscurity 

T , (, . -, 1111(1 growth 

great mart oi commerce, and the seat oi revived of the Jews. 
Grecian learning. The sway of the Ptolemaic kings, Gre- 
cian in origin, was favorable to letters, and to arts. The 
Jews settled in their magnificent city, translated their Scrip- 
tures into Greek, and cultivated the Greek philosophy. 

Meanwhile the internal government of the Jews fell into 
the hands of the high priests — the Persian governors exercis- 
ing only a general superintendence. At length the country, 
once again favored, was subjected to the invasion of Alex- 
ander. After the fall of Tyre, the conqueror advanced to 



78 From tJ{e Captivity to Christ. [Chap. viii. 

Gaza, and totally destroyed it. Jerusalem then fell into his 
hands, but he did no harm to the city or people, and actually 
offered gifts, possibly being influenced by the prophecies of 
Daniel. On the conquest of Persia, Judea became alternately 
the prey of Alexander's generals — the Syrian and Egyptian 
kings, and suffered calamities scarcely inferior to those inflicted 
by Babylonians. 

During the period marked by the wars between Syria and 
Egypt, the internal government of the Jews was in the hands 
TheHigii ^^ ^^^^ high priests, and it was not exempted from 
Priests. disgraceful outrages. To these were added the mis- 

eries which Antiochus, the Syrian monarch, inflicted on Jerusa- 
lem -^ that violent prince who meditated the complete extirpa- 
tion of the Jewish religion, who abolished the temple worship, 
seized the sacred vessels, defiled the altar, and slaughtered forty 
thousand of the inhabitants. 

From this degradation the Jews were rescued by a line of 
heroes — the Asmoneans, or Maccabees, whose wonderful deeds 
were only equaled by those of Saul and David. The head of the 
family was Mattathias, a man of priestly origin, an old man of 
rank and wealth, who refused to depart from the faith of his an- 
cestors, while most of the nation had relapsed into paganism. 
He destroyed the heathen altars, and punished the apostate 
Jews. 

More remarkable still was his son Judas, who resisted, with a 
Judas f^w thousand men, the whole power of the Syrian 

Maccabeus, monarchy, regained Jerusalem and fortified it, and 
formed a league with the Romans, then bent on the conquest of 
the East. He died b. c. 161, and his brother Jonathan suc- 
ceeded to the chief command, and became master of Judea. 
He was unfortunately taken prisoner in a siege, and the gov- 
ernment of the Jews devolved on his brother Simon, the last 
of the heroic family. He ruled with great wisdom, and was, on 
a present of one thousand pounds of gold to the Romans, with 
whom he was in alliance, allowed to take the rank of prince. 

His youngest son, John Hyrcanus, inherited the vigor of 
Joim ^^ family, and was declared High Priest. His reign 

Hyrcanus. -^^^ disturbed by new wars with Syria, and by dis- 
sension between the two great rival sects of Pharisees and Sad- 



Chap. VIII.] The Pharisees. 79 

ducees. The Jews were rent by perpetual feucls and party ani- 
mosities, and these seem to have characterized them ever since 
the Captivity, when they renounced idolatry forever. 

What were these parties ? For their opinions and strug- 
gles and quarrels form no inconsiderable part of Jewish par- 
the internal history of the Jews, both under the '^*"'" 
^Asmonean and Idumean dynasties. 

The most powerful and numerous were the Pharisees, and 
most popular with the nation. The origin of this famous 
sect is involved in obscurity, but probably arose ThePhari- 
not long after the captivity. They were the or- ^®^^' 
thodox party. They clung to the Law of Moses in its most 
minute observances, and to all the traditions of their relio'ion. 
They were earnest, fierce, intolerant, and proud. They be- 
lieved in angels, and in immortality. They were bold and 
heroic in war, and intractable and domineering in peace. 
They were great zealots, devoted to proselytism. They were 
austere in life, and despised all who were not. They were 
learned and decorous, and pragmatical. Their dogmatism 
knew no respite or palliation. They were predestinarians, 
and believed in the servitude of the will. They were seen in 
public with ostentatious piety. They made long prayers, 
fasted with rigor, scrupulously observed the Sabbath, and 
paid tithes of the cheapest herbs. They assumed superiority 
in social circles, and always took the uppermost seats in the 
synagogue. They displayed on their foreheads and the hem 
of their garments, slips of parchment inscribed with sen- 
tences from the law. They were regarded as models 
of virtue and excellence, but were hypocrites in the observ- 
ance of the weightier matters of justice and equity. They 
were, of course, the most bitter adversaries of the faith 
which Christ revealed, and were ever in the ranks Their doc- 

_ . 1 ^ 1 ^ trines and 

01 persecution, ihey resembled the most austere character. 
of the Dominican monks in the Middle Ages. They were the 
favorite teachers and guides of the people, whom they incited 
in their various seditions. They were theologians who stood 
at the summit of legal Judaism. *' They fenced round their 



80 From the Cajptivliy to Christ. [Chap. viii. 

law hedges whereby its precepts were guarded against any 
possible infriDgement." And they contrived, by an artful and 
technical interpretation, to find statutes which favored their 
ends. They wrought out asceticism into a system, and ob- 
served the most painful ceremonials — the ancestors of rigid 
monks ; and they united a specious casuistry, not unlike the 
Jesuits, to excuse the violation of the spirit of the law. 
They were a hierarchal caste, whose ambition was to govern, 
and to govern by legal technicalities. They were utterly 
deficient in the virtues of humility and toleration, and as 
such, peculiarly oifensive to the Great Teacher when he pro- 
pounded the higher code of love and forgiveness. Out- 
wardly, however, they were the most respectable as well 
as honorable men of the nation — dignified, decorous, and 
studious of appearances. 

The next great party was that of the Sadducees, who aimed 
to restore the original Mosaic religion in its purity, and ex- 
punge every thing which had been added by tradition. But 
they were deficient in a profound sense of religion, denied 
the doctrine of immortality, and hence all punishment in a 
future life. They made ujd for their denial of the future by 
a rigid punishment of all crimes. They inculcated a belief 
in a Divine Providence by whom all crime was supposed to be 
The Saddu- avenged in this world. The party was not so 
^^^^' popular as that of their rivals, but embraced men 

of high rank. In common with the Pharisees, they main- 
tained the strictness of the Jewish code, and professed great 
uprightness of morals. They had, however, no true, deep 
religious life, and were cold and heartless in their disposi- 
tions. They were mostly men of ease and wealth, and satis- 
fied with earthly enjoyments, and inclined to the epicurean- 
ism which marked many of the Greek philosophers. Nor 
did they escape the hypocrisy which disgraced the Pharisees, 
and their bitter opposition to the truths of Christianity. 

In addition to these two great parties which controlled the 
people, were the Essenes. But they lived apart 
from men, in the deserts round the Dead Sea, and 



Chap. VIII.] 



Serod. 81 



dreaded cities as nurseries of vice. They allowed no women 
within their settlements, and were recruited by strangers and 
proselytes who thought all pleasure to be a sin: They estab- 
lished a community of goods, abstained from animal food, and 
lived on roots and bread. They embraced the philosophy of the 
Orientals, and supposed that matter was evil and the mind di- 
vine. They were mystics and ascetics, and their doctrines be- 
came subsequently incorporated with those of the early monks. 
But they had no direct influence on the people of Judea, like 
the Pharisees and Saclducees, and hence I pass them by, to con- 
sider briefly the fate of the latter Asmoneans. 

Hyrcanus reigned twenty-nine years, and was succeeded by 
his son Aristobulus, b. c. 106, — a prince disgraced by the mur- 
der of his mother and brothers. He died in a fit of remorse 
and agony. 

Alexander Janneus succeeded to the throne, and while this 
priest-king was celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles, a rebellion 
broke out, headed by the Pharisaic party, from which the 
country sufi^ered the evils of civil war for six years. But he re- 
gained authority, and reigned twenty-seven years, in great tur- 
bulence. 

This prince died b. c. 77, and the high-priesthood devolved 
upon his son Hyrcanus, a weak man, who was compelled to 
abdicate in favor of his minister Antipater, a noble Idumean, 
whose family gradually wrested power from the Asmoneans, and 
became the kings of Judea, aided by the Roman generals, who 
plundered Jerusalem. Herod, the second son of Antipater, by 
his marriage with Mariamne, of the line of the Asmoneans, 
and by courting the Romans, now all-powerful, was the last of 
the independent sovereigns of Palestine. He reigned Yiem^ reigns 
tyrannically, and was guilty of great crimes, having tyrannicaUy. 
caused the death of the aged Hyrcanus, and the imprisonment 
and execution of his wife on a foul suspicion. He paid the same 
court to Augustus that he did to Antony, and was confirmed in 
the possession of his kingdom. The last of the line of the As- 
moneans had perished on the scaffold, beautiful, innocent, and 
proud, the object of a boundless passion to a tyrant who sacri- 
ficed her to a still greater one — suspicion. Alternating be- 

6 



82 From the Captivity to Christ. . [Chap. viil. 

tween his love and resentment, Herod sank into a violent fit of 
remorse, for he had more or less concern in the murder of the 
father, the grandfather, the brother, and the uncle of his beauti- 
ful and imperious wife. At all times, even amid the glories of 
His miser- ^^^^ palace, he was haunted with the image of the wife 
able Me. j^g •)^^^ destroyed, and loved with passionate ardor. 
He burst forth in tears, he tried every diversion, banquets and 
revels, solitude and labor ; still the murdered Mariamne is ever 
present to his excited imagination. He settled down in a fixed 
and indelible gloom, and his stern nature sought cruelty and 
bloodshed. His public administration was, on the whole, favor- 
able to the peace and happiness of the country, although he 
introduced the games and the theatres in which the Romans 
sought their greatest pleasures. For these innovations he was 
exposed to incessant dangers ; but he surmounted them all by 
his vigilance and energy. He rebuilt Samaria, and erected pal- 
aces. But his greatest work was the building of Caesarea — a 
city of palaces and theatres. His policy of reducing Judea to a 
mere province of Rome was not pleasing to his subjects, and he 
was suspected of a design of heathenizing the nation. 
Neither his munificence nor severities could suppress the 
murmurs of an indignant people. The undisguised hostility 
of the nation ^^I'ompted him to an act of policy by which he 
hoped to conciliate it forever. The pride and glory of the 
Jews was their temple. This Herod determined to rebuild 
with extraordinary splendor, so as to approach its magnifi- 
cence in the time of Solomon. He removed the old struc- 
ture, dilapidated by the sieges, and violence, and wear of 
five hundred years; and the new edifice gradually arose, 
glittering with gold, and imposing with marble pinnacles. 

But in spite of all his magnificent public works, whether to 
gratify the pride of his people, or his own vanity — in spite 
of his efforts to develop the resources of the country over 
which he ruled by the favor of Rome — in spite of his talents 
and energies — one of the most able of the monarchs who 
The hatred had sat on the throne of Judea, he was obnoxious 

in which he ,. ,. n -, • i ' ^ i • i 

was held. to his subjects lor his cruelties, and his sympathy 



Chap. VIILI Death of Eerod. 83 

with paganism, and he was visited in his latter days oy a 
terrible disorder which racked his body with pain, and in- 
flamed his soul with suspicions, while his court was distracted 
with cabals from his own family, which poisoned his life, and 
led him to perpetrate unnatural cruelties. He had already 
executed two favorite sons, by Mariamne whom he loved, all 
from court intrigues and jealousy, and he then executed his 
son and heir, by Doris, his first wife, whom he had divorced 
to marry Mariamne, and under circumstances so cruel that 
Augustus remarked that he had rather be one of his swine 
than one of his sons. Among other atrocities, he had ordered 
the massacre of the Innocents to prevent any one to be born 
" as king of the Jews." His last act was to give the fatal 
mandate for the execution of his son Antipater, 

-. 1 -. 1 1 . 1 . T 1 1 His death. 

whom he hoped to make his heir, and then almost 
immediately expired in agonies, detested by the nation, and 
leaving a name as infamous as that of Ahab, a. a. 4. 

Herod had married ten wives, and left a numerous family. 
By his will, he designated the sons of Malthace, his sixth 
wife, and a Samaritan, as his successors. These were Arche- 
laus, Antipas, and Olympias. The first inherited his kingdom 
Idumea, Samaria, and Judea ; to the second were among Ws 
assigned Galilee and Persea. Archelaus at once ^°°®- 
assumed the government at Jerusalem ; and after he had 
given his father a magnificent funeral, and the people a 
funeral banquet, he entered the temple, seated himself on a 
golden throne, and made, as is usual with monarchs, a con- 
ciliatory speech, promising reform and alleviations from taxes 
and oppression. But even this did not prevent one of those 
disgraceful seditions which have ever marked the people of 
Jerusalem, in which three thousand were slain, caused by re- 
ligious animosities. After quelling the tumult by the mili- 
tary, he set out for Rome, to secure his confirmation to the 
throne. He encountered opposition from various intrigues 
by his own family, and the caprice of the emperor. His 
youngjer brother, Antipas, also went to Rome to The claims 

•^ ^ 5 1' of the rival 

support his claim to the throne by virtue of a princes. 



84 From the Captivity to Christ. [Chap. viii. 

former will. While the cause of the royal litigants was 
being settled in the supreme tribunal of the civilized world, 
new disturbances broke out in Judea, caused by the rapaci- 
ties of Sabinus, the Roman procurator of Syria. The whole 
country was in a state of anarchy, and adventurers flocked 
from all quarters to assert their claims in a nation that ar- 
dently looked forward to national independence, or the rise 
of some conqueror who should restore the predicted glory of 
the land now rent with civil feuds, and stained with fratri- 
cidal blood. Varus, the prefect of Syria, attempted to restore 
order, and crucified some two thousand ringleaders of the 
tumults. Five hundred Jews went to Rome to petition for 
the restoration of their ancient constitution, and the aboli- 
tion of kingly rule. 

At length the imperial edict confirmed the will of Herod, 
TheEomana ^i^^l Archclaus was appointed to the sovereignty of 
win 0? Her- Jerusalem, Idumea, and Samaria, under the title of 
^^' cthnarch ; Herod Antipas obtained Galilee and 

Persea; Philip, the son of Herod and Cleopatra of Jerusa- 
lem, was made tetrarch of Itursea. Archelaus governed his 
dominions with such injustice and cruelty, that he was de- 
posed by the emperor, and Judea became a Roman province. 
The sceptre departed finally from the family of David, of the 
Asmoneans, and of Herod, and the kingdom sank into a 
district dependent on the prefecture of Syria, though admin- 
istered by a Roman governor. ,j 



book: II. 

THE GEEOIAN STATES. 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE GEOGEAPHT OF A^STCIENT GREECE, AND ITS EARLY 
INHABITANTS. 

We have seen that the Oriental world, so favored by 
nature, so rich in fields, in flocks, and fruits, failed Degeneracy 
to realize the higher destiny of man. In spite tai stotos.^^' 
of all the advantages of nature, he was degraded by de- 
basing superstitions, and by the degeneracy which wealth and 
ease produced. He was enslaved by vices and by despots. 
The Assyrian and Babylonian kingdom, that " head of gold," 
as seen in Nebuchadnezzar's dream, became inferior to the 
" breast and arms of silver," as represented by the Persian 
Empire, and this, in turn, became subject to the Grecian 
States, " the belly and the thighs of brass." It is the nobler 
Hellenic race, with its original genius, its enterprise, its stern 
and rugged nature, strengthened by toil, and enterprise, and 
war, that we are now to contemplate. It is Greece — the land 
of song, of art, of philosophy — the land of heroes and freemen, 
to which we now turn our eyes — the most interesting, and 
the most famous of the countries of antiquity. 

Let us first survey that country in all its stern ruggedness 
and picturesque beauty. It was small compared ^^^^^ . 
with Assyria or Persia. Its original name was of Greece. 
Hellas, designated by a little district of Thessaly, which lay. 
on the southeast verge of Europe, and extended in length 
from the thirty-sixth to the fortieth degree of latitude. It 



86 CreograpJiy of Ancient Crreece, [Chap. ix. 

contained, with its islands, only twenty-one thousand two hun- 
dred and ninety square miles, less than Portugal or Ireland, 
but its coasts exceeded the whole Pyrenean peninsula, and 
were faVorable to the development of commerce and maritime 
adventure. The country is hilly and mountainous, supporting a 
hardy and brave population, like Wales and Scotland. No part 
of Europe, except Switzerland, is so covered with mountains as 
Greece ; only a small part of the country is level. 

The rivers are famous, but more for historical associations than 
for size. The lakes, too, are numerous, but small. The adja- 
cent seas are filled with islands. 

Situated on the same parallels of latitude as Asia Minor, and 
the South of Italy and Spain, Greece produced wheat, barley, 
flax, wine, and oil from the earliest times. Both vegetables and 
fish were abundant. Corn was imported in considerable quan- 
tities in exchange for figs, olives, and oil. The climate was less 
genial than that of Asia Minor, but more stimulating and 
varied. 

The various tribes which originally inhabited this mountain- 
ous country all belonged to that branch of the Indo-European 
race which is called Pelasgian. They were a people of savage 
manners, but sufficiently civilized to till the earth and build 
walled cities. Their religion was polytheistic, a personifica- 
tion of the powers of nature and of the heavenly bodies. They 
were probably a wandering people before they settled in Greece. 
At the periqd when written history begins, the early inhabitants, 
whatever their remote origin, were driven from their settle- 
ments by a warlike race, akin to the Pelasgians, called the 
Hellenes, who were Supposed to have issued from Thessaly, and 
who gave their name ultimately to the whole country. Divided 
into small settlenaents, they were yet bound together by lan- 
guage and customs. There were four chief divisions of this 
nation — the Dorians, ^olians, Achaeans, and lonians. 

Of these four divisions of the Hellenic race, the Cohans 
spread over Northern Greece, and also occupied the western 
Early Gre- coast of the Pcloponncsus and the Ionian Islands, 
cian Tribes, rjij^^ Achssaus denote the Hellenic tribes which fought 
at Troy, and were the dominant people of the Peloponnesus. 



Chap. IX.] CrTecian Mythology. 87 

The Dorians occupied a small territory on the slopes of Mount 
CEta, north of Delphi. The lonians lived on a narrow slope 
along the northern coast of the Peloponnesus, and extended 
into Attica, and also colonized, at a later period, parts of Asia 
Minor and the islands of the ^gean. 

The legends of ancient Greece have more poetical than his- 
torical interest, and therefore I will not dwell upon them, es- 
pecially as they are complicated and often obscure. Until the 
first Olympiad, B. c. 776, the Greeks had no authentic written 
historv- All is involved in traditions or myths, beauti- 

■^ •' Legends. 

ful but not trustworthy, pertaining to gods and men. 
This mythology is, however, interwoven with the literature and 
art of the Greeks, furnishing inexhaustible subjects for poets, 
painters, and sculptors. But these myths are too numerous to 
be treated here. 

First we see in the mythology of Greece those gods and god- 
desses who represent the powers of nature, and the great attri- 
butes of wisdom, purity, courage, fidelity, and truth. It was 
these powers and attributes which were worshipped under the 
names of Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Apollo, Artemis, Athena, Aph- 
rodite, and others. Homer and Hesiod are the great authorities 
of the Pagan world. 

The worship of these various deities, the chief of whom was 
Zeus, or Jupiter, was attended by rites and sacrifices 

i" ' ..... Zeus. 

more or less elevated, but sometimes by impurities, 
like those of Dionysus, or Bacchus, the god of wine, and Aph- 
rodite, or Venus, the goddess of beauty. To all the various 
deities temples were erected and offerings made. And of all 
these deities there are legends which would fill large volumes, 
some of which are full of poetic beauty and fascination. 

Besides these legends pertaining to gods and goddesses, are 
those which relate to the heroic deeds of men, and which are in- 
vested with great interest. 

Among the most ancient was the legend of the Danaides, 
around which centres the early history of Argos, 

, . -. Danaides. . 

and which pertains to a period nearly two thousand 

years before Christ, the period of the Pyramids. The labors of 

Hercules again are among the most impressive of these legends, 



88 Inhabitants of Ancient Greece. [Chap. ix. 

since they represent the endless toils of a noble soul, doomed 
to labor for others and obey the commands of cruel persecu- 
tors. His descendants are represented as invading the Pelopon- 
nesus, from which they had been expelled, and, aided by the 
Dorians, gaining possession of the peninsula. Hence the great 
Dorian settlement of Argos, Sparta, and Messenia, effected by 
the return of the Heracleids. 

Another important legend is that which relates to Deucalion 
and the Deluge. The wickedness of the world in- 
duced Zeus to punish it by a deluge, from which 
Deucalion was saved by an ark or chest, which he was fore- 
warned to construct. After floating nine days, he landed on 
the summit of Mount Parnassus. Issuing from the ark he 
found no inhabitants ; but, instructed by Zeus, he and his wife, 
Pyrrha, threw stones over their heads which became men and 
women. 

Deucalion and Pyrrha had two sons. Hellen, the eldest, was 
the father of Dorus, JEolus, and Xuthus, and gave his name to 
the nation. JEolus received Thessaly, Xuthus the Peloponne- 
sus, and Dorus the country opposite. In this legend we see a 
reproduction of the Mosaic account of the second settlement of 
mankind. 

The great Deucalion deluge, according to legend, happened 
1796 before Christ, 1020 before the first Olympiad. After a 
long period, Cecrops became king of the country known as At- 
tica. By some he is represented as a Pelasgian, and by others as 
an Egyptian. He is said to have introduced the first elements 
of civilized life — marriage, the twelve political divisions of At- 
tica, and a new form of worship, abolishing the bloody sacrifices 
to Zeus. He gave to the country the name of Cecropia. 

Among his descendants was Theseus, one of the Argonauts, 

who freed Attica from robbers and wild beasts, con- 
Theseus. -, -XT' n /-\ 

quered the celebrated Minotaur oi Crete, and escaped, 
from the labyrinth by the aid of Ariadne, whom he carried 
away. 

There are also interesting legends pertaining to Thebes, Cor- 
inth, and other states, like the story of Jason and the Argo- 
nauts, Sisyphus, Bellerophon, Tantalus, Pelops, Cadmus, OEdi- 
pus, Creon, and others, which would more than fill this volume. 



Chap. IX.] Legends of Ancient Greece. 89 



The most interesting of all is that which relates to the Tro- 
jan War — the subject of Homer's immortal Iliad, 
but is too well known to be repeated. On the fall of 
Troy, the Grecian victors quarrel among themselves, and, after 
long wanderings and bitter disappointments, and protracted 
hopes, they finally return to their homes to recount their ad- 
ventures, and reconstruct their states, and mend their fortunes 
— a type of war in all ages. The wanderings of Ulysses also 
have a peculiar fascination, since they form the subject of the 
Odyssey, one of the noblest poems of all ages. 

All these various legends, though unsupported by history, 
have a great ethical importance, as well as poetic interest to 
interest. The passions, habits, and adventures of tL'^ie'^eudsof 
a primitive and warlike race are presented by the Greece. 
poets with transcendent effect, and we read lessons of human 
nature as in the dramas of Shakespeare. Hence, one of the 
most learned and dignified of the English historians deems it 
worthy of his pen to devote to these myths a volume of his 
noble work. Nor is it misplaced labor. These legends fur- 
nished subjects to the tragic and epic poets of antiquity, as 
well as to painters and sculptors, in all the ages of art. They 
are identified with the development of Grecian genius, and are 
as imperishable as history itself They were to the Greeks re- 
alities, and represent all that is vital in their associations and 
worship. They stimulated the poetic faculty, and taught les- 
sons of moral wisdom which all nations respect and venerate. 
They contributed to enrich both literature and art. They 
make ^schylus, Euripides, Pindar, Homer, and Hesiod great 
monumental pillars of the progress of the human race. 
Therefore, we will not willingly let those legends die in our 
memories or hearts. 

They are particularly important as shedding light on the 
manners, customs, and institutions of the ancient ?!^f^^j^pji.^' 
Greeks, although they give no reliable historical «^'^<5®- 
facts. They are memorials of the first state of Grecian socie- 
ty, essentially different from the Oriental world. We see in 
them the germs of political constitutions-^the rise of liberty 



90 Inhabitants of Ancient Greece. [Chap. ix. 

— the pre-eminence of families which forms the foundation for 
oligarchy, or the ascendency of nobles. We see also the first 
beginnings of democratic influence — the voice of the people 
asserting a claim to be heard in the market-place. We see 
again the existence of slavery — captives taken in war doomed 
to attendance in princely palaces, and ultimately to menial 
labor on the land. In those primitive times a State was 
often nothing but a city, with the lands surrounding it, 
and therefore it was possible for all the inhabitants to as- 
semble in the agora with the king and nobles. We find, in 
the early condition of Greece, kings, nobles, citizens, and 
slaves. 

The king was seldom distinguished by any impassable bar- 
The early I'i^r between himself and subjects. He was rather 
ff the"'"^^* the chief among his nobles, and his supremacy 
Hellenes. ^,^g ijased ou descent from illustrious ancestors. 
It passed generally to the eldest son. In war he was a leader ; 
in peace, a protector. He offered up prayers and sacrifices 
for his people to the gods in whom they all alike believed. 
He possessed an ample domain, and the produce of his 
lands was devoted to a generous "but rude hospitality. He 
had a large share of the plunder taken from an enemj^, and 
„, , the most allurino; of the female captives. It was. 

The king. . ^ . ^ , ' 

however, difficult for him to retain ascendency 
without great personal gifts and virtues, and especially bra- 
very on the field of battle, and wisdom in council. To the 
noblest of these kings the legends ascribe great bodily 
strength and activity. 

The kings were assisted by a great council of chieftains or 

nobles, whose functions were deliberation and con- 

Thecoancils. . 

sultation ; and after having talked over their inten- 
tions with the chiefs, they announced them to the people, who 
assembled in the market-place, and who were generally sub- 
missive to the royal authority, although they were regarded 
as the source of power. Then the king, and sometimes his 
nobles, administered justice and heard complaints. Public 
speaking was favorable to eloquence, and stimulated Intel- 



Chap. IX.] IJarly Forms of Civilization, 91 

lectual development, and gave dignity to the people to whom 
the speeches were addressed. 

In those primitive times there was a strong religious feeling, 
great reverence for the gods, whose anger w^as Religious 
deprecated, and whose favor was sought. The ties jife. ^''"'^^ 
of families were strong. Paternal authority was recognized 
and revered. Marriage was a sacred institution. The wife 
occupied a position of great dignity and influence. Women 
were not secluded in a harem, as were the Asiatics, hut em- 
ployed in useful labors. Children were obedient, and bro- 
thers, sisters, and cousins were united together by strong 
attachments. Hospitality was a cherished virtue, and the 
stranger was ever cordially welcome, nor questioned even 
until refreshed by the bath and the banquet. Feasts were 
free from extravagance and luxury, and those who shared 
in them enlivened the company by a recital of the adven- 
tures of gods and men. But passions were unrestrained, 
and homicide vras common. The murderer was not punish- 
ed by the State, but was left to the vengeance of kindred 
and friends, appeased sometimes by costly gifts, as among 
the ancient Jews. • 

There was a rude civilization among the ancient Greeks, 
reminding us of the Teutonic tribes, but it was Early forms 
higher than theirs. We observe the division of tion. 
the peoj)le into various trades and occupations — car^Denters, 
smiths, leather-dressers, leeches, prophets, bards, and fisher- 
men, although the main business was agriculture. Cattle 
were the great staple of wealth, and the largest part of the 
land was devoted to pasture. The land was tilled chiefly by 
slaves, and women of the servile class were doomed to severe 
labor and privations. They brought the water, and they 
turned the mills. Spinning and weaving were, however, the 
occupations of all, and garments for men and women were 
alike made at home. There was only a limited commerce, 
which was then monopolized by the Phoenicians, who exag- 
gerated the dangers of the sea. There were walled cities, 
palaces, and temples. Armor was curiously wrought, and 



92 Inhahitants of Ancient Greece. [Chap. IX. 

arms were well made. Rich garments were worn by 
]3rinces, and their palaces glittered with the precious metals. 
Copper was hardened so as to be employed in weapons of 
war. The warriors had chariots and horses, and were armed 
with sword, dagger, and spear, and were protected by 
helmets, breastplates, and greaves. Fortified cities were built 
on rocky elevations, although the people generally lived in 
unfortified villages. The means of defense were superior to 
those of offense, which enabled men to preserve their acqui- 
sitions, for the ancient chieftains resembled the feudal barons 
of the Middle Ages in the passion for robbery and adventure. 
We do not read of coined money nor the art of writing, nor 
sculptui"e, nor ornamental architecture among the Homeric 
Greeks ; but they were fond of music and poetry. Before 
history commences, they had their epics, which, sung by 
the bards and minstrels, furnished Homer and Hesiod with 
materials for their noble productions. It is supposed by 
Grote that the Homeric poems were composed eight hundred 
and fifty years before Clirist, and preserved two hundred 
years without the aid of writing — of all poems the most 
popular and natural, and addressed to unlettered minds. 

Such were the heroic ages with their myths, their heroes, 
their simple manners, their credulity, their religious faith, 
their rude civilization. We have now to trace their pro- 
gress through the historical epoch. 



CHAPTEE X. 

THE GRECIAN STATES AND COLONIES TO THE PEESIAN 

WARS. 

We come now to consider those States which grew into 
importance about the middle of the eighth century before 
Christ, at the close of the legendary period. 

The most important of these was Sparta, which was the 
leading: State. We have seen how it was conquered 

^ . . Lycargus. 

by Dorians, under Heracleid princes. Its first great 

historic name was Lycurgus, whom some historians, however, 

regard as a mythical personage. 

Sparta was in a state of anarchy in consequence of the 
Dorian conquest, a contest between the kings, aiming at ab- 
solute power, and the people, desirous of democratic liberty. 
At this juncture the king, Polydectes, died, leaving Lycurgus, 
his brother, guardian of the realm, and of the infant His legisia- 
heir to the throne. The future lawgiver then set *^""' 
out on his travels, visiting the other States of Greece, Asia 
Minor, Egypt, and other countries, and returned to Sparta 
about the period of the first Olympiad, b. c. 77G, with a rich 
store of wisdom and knowledge. The State was full of dis- 
orders, but he instituted great reforms, aided by the authority 
of the Delphic oracle, and a strong party of influential men. 
His great object was to convert the citizens of Sparta into 
warriors united by the strongest bonds, and trained to the 
severest discipline, governed by an oligarchy under the form 
of the ancient monarchy. In other words, his object was to 
secure the ascendency of the small body of Dorian invaders 
that had conquered Laconia. 

The descendants of these invaders, the Spartans, alone 
possessed the citizenship, and were equal in political rights. 



94 Grecian States and Colonies, [Chap. x. 

They were the proprietors of the soil, which was tilled by 
Spartan citi- Helots. The Spartaiis disdained any occupation 
^®°^' but war and government. They lived within 

their city, which was a fortified camp, and ate in common at 
public tables, and on the simplest fare. Every virtue and 
energy were concentrated on self-discipline and sacrifice, in 
order to fan the fires of heroism and self-devotion. They 
were a sort of stoics — hard, severe, proud, despotic, and 
overbearing. They cared nothing for literature, or art, or 
philosojDhy. Even eloquence was disdained, and the only 
poetry or music they cultivated were religious hymns and 
heroic war songs. Commerce was forbidden by the consti- 
tution, and all the luxuries to which it leads. Only iron was 
allowed for money, and the precious metals were prohibited. 
Every exercise, every motive, every law, contributed to 
make the Spartans soldiers, and nothing but soldiers. Their 
discipline was the severest known to the ancients. Their 
habits of life were austere and rigid. They were trained to 
Bufier any hardship without complaint. 

Besides these Spartan citizens were the Perioeci — remnants 
The old of the old Achssan population, but mixed with an 
population, inferior class- of Dorians. They had no political 
power, but possessed personal freedom. They were landed 
proprietors, and engaged in commerce and manufactures. 

Below this class were the Helots — pure Greeks, but reduced 
to dependence by conquest. They were bound 
to the soil, like serfs, but dwelt with their families 
on the farms they tilled. They were not bought and sold 
as slaves. They were the body servants of the Spartan citi- 
zens, and were regarded as the property of the State. They 
were treated with great haughtiness and injustice by their 
masters, which bred at last an intense hatred. 

All political power was in the hands of the citizen warriors, 
only about nine thousand in number in the time of Lycurgus. 
From them emanated all delegated authority, except that of 
The Eccie- kings. This assembly, or ecclesia, of Spartans over 
^^* thirty years of age, met at stated intervals to decide 



Chap. X.] Institutions of Sjoarta, 95 

on all important matters submitted to them, but they had no 
right of amendment — only a simple approval or rejection. 

The body to which the people, it would seem, delegated 
considerable power, was the Senate, composed of 
thirty members, not under sixty years of age, and 
elected for life. They were a deliberative body, and judges 
in all capital charges against Spartans. They were not chosen 
for noble birth or property qualifications, but for merit and 
wisdom. 

At the head of the State, at least nominally, were two 
kinajs, who were numbered with the thirty senators. 

^ ' 1 1 -r> The kings. 

They had scarcely more power than the Roman 

consuls ; they commanded the armies, and offered the public 

sacrifices, and were revered as the descendants of Hercules. 

The persons of most importance. were the ephors, chosen 
annually by the people, who exercised the chief 
executive power, and without responsibility. They 
could even arrest kings, and bring them to trial before the 
Senate. Two of the five ephors accompanied the king in 
war, and were a check on his authority. 

It would thus seem that the government of Sparta was 
a republic of an aristocratic type. There were Aristocratic 

1 1 . • form of gov- 

no others nobler than citizens, but these citizens eminent. 
composed but a small part of the population. They were 
Spartans — a handful of conquerors, in the midst of hostile 
people — a body of lords among slaves and subjects. They 
sympathized with law and order, and detested the demo- 
cratical turbulence of Athens. They were trained, by their 
military education, to subordination, obedience, and self- 
sacrifice. They, as citizens or as soldiers, existed only for 
the State, and to the State every thing was subordinate. In 
our times, the State is made for the people ; in Sparta, the 
people for the State. This generated an intense patriotism 
and self-denial. It also permitted a greater interference of 
the State in personal matters than would now be tolerated in 
any despotism in Europe. It made the citizens j^^J in^^the 
submissive to a division of property, which if not ^^^^' 



96 Grecian States and Colonies. [Chap. x. 

a perfect community of goods, was fatal to all private for. 
tmies. But the j^roperty which the citizens thus shared 
was virtually created by the Helots, who alone tilled the 
ground. The wealth of nations is in the earth, and it is its 
cultivation which is the ordinary source of property. The 
State, not individual masters, owned the Helots ; and they 
toiled for the citizens. In the modern sense of liberty, there 
was very little in Sparta, except that which was possessed by 
the aristocratic citizens — the conquerors of the country — men, 
whose very occupation was war and government, and whose 
very amusements were those which fostered warlike habits. 
The Roman citizens did not disdain husbandry, nor the Puri- 
tan settlers of New England, but the Spartan citizens de- 
spised both this and all trade and manufacture. Never was a 
haughtier class of men than these Spartan soldiers. They 
exceeded in pride the feudal chieftain. 

Such an exclusive body of citizens, however, jealous of their 
political privileges, constantly declined in numbers, so that, in 
Number of the time of Aristotle, there were only one thousand 
citizens. Spartan citizens; and this decline continued in 
spite of all the laws by which the citizens were compelled to 
marry, and those customs, so abhorrent to our Christian 
notions, which permitted the invasion of marital rights for 
the sake of healthy children. 

As it was to war that the best energies of the Spartans 
were directed, so their armies were the admiration of the 
Spartan ancient world for discipline and effectiveness, 
armies. They wcrc the first who reduced war to a science. 

The general type of their military organization was the 
phalanx, a body of troops in close array, armed with a long 
spear and short sword. The strength of an army was in the 
heavy armed infantry; and this body was composed almost 
entirely of citizens, with a small mixture of Perioeci. From 
the age of twenty to sixty, every Spartan was liable to mili- 
tary service ; and all the citizens formed an army, whether 
congregated at Sparta, or absent on foreign service. 

Such, in general, were the social, civil, and military insti- 



Chap. X.] Messenia. 97 

tutions of Sparta, and not peculiar to her alone, but to all 
the Dorians, even in Crete ; from which we infer that it was 
not Lycurgus who shaped them, but that they existed inde- 
pendent of his authority. He may have re-established the 
old regulations, and given his aid to preserve the State from 
corruption and decay. And when we remember that the 
constitution which he re-established resisted both the usur- 
pations of tyrants and the advances of deraocracy, by which 
other States were revolutionized, we can not sufficiently 
admire the wisdom which so early animated the Dorian 
legislators. 

The Spartans became masters of the country after a long 
strug^o-le, and it was henceforth called Laconia. TheSpartana 

='=' ' obtain the 

The more obstinate Achseans became Helots, ascendency 

.on the Pe- 

After the conquest, the first memorable event in ninsuia. 
Spartan history was the reduction of Messenia, for which it 
took two great wars. 

Messenia has already been mentioned as the southwestern 
part of the Peloponnesus, and resembling Laconia in its gen* 
eral aspects. The river Parnisus flows through its entire 
length, as Eurotas does in Laconia, forming fertile valleys 
and plains, and producinsc various kinds of cereals 
and fruits, even as it now produces oil, silk, figs, 
wheat, maize, cotton, wdne, and honey. The area of Mes 
senia is one thousand one hundred and ninety-two square 
miles, not so large as one of our counties. The early inhab- 
itants had been conquered by the Dorians, and it was against 
the descendants of these conquerors that the Spartans made^ 
war. The murder of a Spartan king, Teleclus, at a temple 
on the confines of Laconia and Messenia, where sacrifices 
were offered in common, gave occasion for the first war^ 
which lasted nineteen years, b. c. 743. Other States were 
involved in the quarrel — Corinth on the side of The war 
Sparta, and Sicyon and Arcadia on the part of the "^"^ ^p""""*** 
Messenians. The Spartans having the superiority in the field, 
the Messenians retreated to their stronghold of Ithome, 
where they defended themselves fifteen years. But at 



98 Grecian States and Colonies. [Chap. x. 

last they were compelled to abandon it, and the fortress was 
razed to the ground. The conquered were reduced to the 
condition of Helots — compelled to cultivate the land and 
pay half of its produce to their new masters. The Spartan 
citizens became the absolute owners of the whole soil of 
Messenia. 

After thirty-nine years of servitude, a hero arose among 
the conquered Messenians, Aristomenes, like Judas 
Maccabeus, or William Wallace, who incited his 
countrymen to revolt. The whole of the Peloponnesus be- 
came involved in the new war, and only Corinth became the 
ally of Sparta ; the remaining States of Argos, Sicyon, Arca- 
dia, and Pisa, sided with the Messenians. The Athenian 
poet, Tyrtasus, stimulated the Spartans by his war-songs. In 
the first great battle, the Spartans were worsted; in the 
second, they gained a signal victory, so that the Messenians 
were obliged to leave the open country and retire to the 
fortress on Mount Ira. Here they maintained themselves 
Conquest of elcA^cu ycars, the Spartans being unused to sieges, 
Messenia. ^^^^ trained only to conflict in the open field. The 
fortress was finally taken by treachery, and the hero who 
sought to revive the martial glories of his State fled to 
Rhodes. Messenia became now, b, c. 668, a part of Laconia, 
and it was three hundred years before it appeared again in 
history. 

The Spartans, after the conquest of Messenia, turned their 
Aggrandize- evcs upou Arcadia — that land of shepherds, free 
Sparta. and simple and brave like themselves. The city 

of Tegea long withstood the arms of the Spartans, but finally 
yielded to superior strength, and became a subject ally, b. c. 
560. Sparta Avas further increased by a part of Argos, and 
a great battle, b. c. 547, between the Argives and Spartans, 
resulted in the complete ascendency of Sj^arta in the south- 
ern part of the Peloponnesus, about the time that Cyrus 
overthrew the Lydian empire. The Ionian Greeks of Asia 
Minor invoked their aid against the Persian power, and 
Sparta proudly rallied in their defence. 



Chap. X-] The Age of Tyrants, 99 

Meanwhile, a great political revolution was going on in 
the other States of Greece, in no condition to resist the pre- 
eminence of Sparta. The patriarchal monarchies of the 
heroic ages had gradually been subverted by the p„iiticai 
rising importance of the nobility, enriched by ^^^^»*^^' 
conquered lands. Every conquest, every step to national 
advancement, brought the nobles nearer to the crown, and 
the government passed into the hands of those nobles who 
had formerly composed the council of the king. With the 
growing power of nobles was a corresponding growth of the 
political power of the people or citizens, in consequence of 
increased wealth and intelligence. The political changes were 
rapid. As the nobles had usurped the power of the kings, 
so the citizens usurped the power of the nobles. The ever- 
lasting war of classes, where the people are intelligent and 
free, was signally illustrated in the Grecian States, and de- 
mocracy succeeded to the oligarchy which had prostrated 
kings. Then, when the people had gained the ascendency, 
ambitious and factious demagogues in turn, got the control, 
and these adventurers, now called Tyrants, assum- The age of 
ed arbitrary powers. Their power was only main- >''^^'^*®' 
tained by cruelty, injustice, and unscrupulous means, which 
caused them finally to be so detested that they were removed 
by assassination. These natural changes, from a monarchy, 
primitive and just and limited, to an oligarchy of nobles, 
and the gradual subversion of their power by wealthy and 
enliojhtened citizens, and then the rise of demagi:02:ues, who 
became tyrants, have been illustrated in all ages of the 
world. But the rapidity of these changes in the Grecian 
States, with the progress of wealth and corruption, make 
their history impressive on all generations. It is these rapid 
and natural revolutions which give to the political history 
of Greece its permanent interest Jtnd value. The age of th€ 
Tyrants is generally fixed from b. c. 650 to b. c. 500 — about 
one hundred and fifty years. 

No State passe<l through these changes of government more 
signally than Corinthia, which, with Megaris, formed the isth- 



100 Grecian States and Colonies. [Chap. x. 

mus whicli connected tlie Peloponnesus with Greece Proper, 
It was a small territory, covered with the rido^es 

Corinthia. ^ , ,> ^ A -, i ^ ° 

and the spurs oi the (jreranean and the Oneian 
mountains, and useless for purposes of agriculture. Its prin- 
cipal city was Corinth ; was favorably situated for commerce, 
and rapidly grew in population and wealth. It also command- 
ed the great roads which led from Greece Proper through the 
defiles of the mountains into the Peloponnesus. It rapidly 
monopolized the commerce of the .^gean Sea, and the East 
through the Saronic Gulf; and through the Corinthian Gulf 
it commanded the trade of the Ionian and Sicilian seas. 

Corinth, by some, is supposed have been a Phoenician col- 
Changes in ony. Before authentic history begins, it was in- 
habited by a mixed population of JEolians and 
lonians, the former of whom were dominant. Over them 
reigned Sisyphus, according to tradition, the grandfather of 
Bellerophon who laid the foundation of mercantile prosperity. 
The first historical king was Aletes, b. c. 1074, the leader of 
Dorian invaders, who subdued the ^olians, and incorpora- 
ted them with their own citizens. The descendants of Aletes 
reigned twelve generations, when the nobles converted the 
government into an oligarchy, under Bacchis, who greatly 
increased the commercial importance of the city. In 75 4, 
B. c, Corinth began to colonize, and fitted out a war fleet for 
the protection of commerce. The oligarchy was supplanted 
by Cypselus, b. c. 655, a man of the people, whose mother 
was of noble birth, but rejected by her family, of the ruling 
house of the Baechiadae, on account of lameness. His son 
Periander reigned forty years with cruel despotism, but 
made Corinth the leading commercial city of Greece, and 
he subjected to her sway the colonies planted on the islands 
of the Ionian Sea, one of which was Corey ra (Corfu), which 
gained a great mercantile fame. It was under his reign that 
the poet Arion, of Lesbos, flourished, to whom he gave h\% 
patronage. In three years after the death of Periander, 58£ 
b. c, the oligarchal power was restored, and Corinth allied 
herself with Sparta in her schemes of aggrandizement. 



Chap. X.] Athens. \. 101 

The same change of government was seen in Sl^gara, a 
neighboring State, situated on the isthmus, between chants in 
Corinth and Attica, and which attained great ^^^'^^■^- - 
commercial distinction. As a result of commercial opulence, 
the people succeeded in overthrowing the government, 
an oligarchy of Dorian conquerors, and elevating a dema- 
gogue, Theagenes, to the supreme power, b. c. 630. He ruled 
tyrannically, in the name of the people, for thirty years, but 
was expelled by the oligarchy, which regained power. 
During his reign all kinds of popular excesses were perpe- 
trated, especially the confiscation of the property of the rich. 

Other States are also illustrations of tliis change of govern- 
ment from kings to oligarchies, and oligarchies to changes in 
demagogues and tyrants, as on the isle of Lesbos, ^^ eratates. 
where Pittacus reigned dictator, but with wisdom and virtue — 
one of the seven wise men of Greece — and in Samos, where 
Polycrates rivaled the fame of Periander, and adorned his 
capital with beautiful buildings, and patronized literature 
and art. One of his friends was Anacreon, the poet. He was 
murdered by the Persians, b. c. 522. 

But the State which most signally illustrates the revolutions 
in government was Athens. 

" Where on the ^gean shore a cifcy stands, — 
Built nobly ; pure the air, and light the soil: 
Athens, the eye of Greece, mother of arts 
And eloquence, native to famous wits." 

Every thing interesting or impressive in the history of 
classical antiquity clusters round this famous city. Early histo- 
so that without Athens there could be no Greece, '^^^^^'^^i^'^^s- 
Attica, the little State of which it was the capital, formed a 
triangular peninsula, of about seven hundred square miles. 
The country is hilly and rocky, and unfavorable to agricul- 
ture ; but such was the salubrity of the climate, and the in- 
dustry of the people, all kinds of plants and animals flourish- 
ed. The history of the country, like that of the other States, 
is mythical, to the period of the first Olympiad. Ogyges 
has the reputation of being the first king of a people who 



102 Grecian States and Colonies. [Chap. x. 

claimed /to be indigenous, about one hundred and fifty years 
befoi:e the arrival of Cecrops, who came, it is supposed, from 
Egypt, and founded Athens, and taught the simple but sav- 
age natives a new religion, and the elements of civilized life, 
1556 B. c. It received its name from the goddess Neith, in- 
troduced by him from Egypt, under the name of Athena, or 
Minerva. It was also called Cecropia, from its founder. Until 
the time of Theseus it was a small town, confined to the 
Acropolis and Mars Hill. This hero is the ffreat 

Theseus. ^ . , . 

name of ancient Athenian legend, as Hercules is to 
Greece generally. He cleared the roads of robbers, and 
formed an aristocratical constitution, with a king, who was 
only the first of his nobles. But he himself, after having 
given political unity, was driven away by a conspiracy of 
nobles, leaving the throne to Menestheus, a descendant of the 
ancient kings. This monarch reigned twenty-four years, 
and lost his life at the siege of Troy. The whole period of 
the monarchy lies within the mythical age. Tradition makes 

Codrus the last kino;, who was slain during^ an in- 

Codrus. . . °' ^ . 

vasion of the Dorians, b. c. 1045. Hesolvmg to 
have no future king, the Athenians substituted the ofiice of 
archon, or ruler, and made his son, Medon, the superior mag- 
istrate. This office remained hereditary in the family of 
Codrus for thirteen generations. In b. c. 752, the duration of 
the office was fixed for ten years. It remained in the 
family of Codrus thirty-eight years longer, when it was left 
open for all the nobles. In 683 b. c, nine archons were annu- 
ally elected from the nobles, the first having superior dignity. 
The first of these archons, of whom any thing of import- 
ance is recorded, was Draco, who o-overned Athena 

Draco. . ' :> r> 

m the year 624 b. c, who promulgated writ- 
ten laws, exceedingly severe, inflicting capital punishment 
for slight offenses. The people grew weary of him and 
his laws, and he was banished to ^gina, where he died, from 
a conspiracy headed by Cylon, oneof the nobles, who seized 
the Acropolis, b. c. 612. His insurrection, however, failed, 
and he was treacherously put to death by one of the archons, 



Chap. X.] Institutions of Solon, 103 

which led to the expulsion of the whole body, and a change 
in the constitution. 

This was effected by Solon, the Athenian sage and law- 
giver — himself of the race of Codrus, whom the 
Athenians chose as archon, with full power to make 
new laws. Intrusted with absolute power, he abstained from 
. abusing it — a patriot in the most exalted sense, as well as 
a poet and philosopher. Urged by his friends to make him- 
self tyrant, he replied that tyranny might be a fair country, 
only there was no way out of it. 

When he commenced his reforms, the nobles, or Eupatridse, 
were in possession of most of the fertile land of Attica, while 
the poorer citizens possessed only thQ sterile highlands. This 
created an unhappy jealousy between the rich and poor. Be- 
sides, there was another class that had grown rich by com- 
merce, animated by the spirit of freedom. But their u^g institu- 
influence tended to widen the gulf between the rich ^*""^" 
and poor. The poor got into debt, fell into the power of 
creditors, and sunk to the condition of serfs, and many were 
even sold to slavery, for the laws were severe against debtors, 
as in ancient Rome. Solon, like Moses in his institution of 
the Year of Jubilee, set free all the estates and persons that 
had become tributary to creditors, and ransomed such as were 
sold to slavery. 

Having removed the chief source of enmity between the 
rich and poor, he repealed the bloody laws of Draco, and 
commenced to remodel the political constitution. The fun- 
damental principles which he adopted was a distribution of 
power to all citizens according to their wealth. Loss of ans- 

. . tocratic 

But the nobles were not deprived of then- ascend- power. 
ency, only the way was opened to all citizens to reach politi- 
cal distinction, especially those who were enriched by com- 
merce. He made an assessment of the landed property of all 
the citizens, takino; as the medium a standard of value which 
was equivalent to a drachma of annual produce. The first 
class, who had no aristocratic titles, were called Pentacosio- 
medimni, from possessing five hundred medimni or upward. 



104 Grecian States and Colonies. [Chap. x. 

They alone were eligible to the archonship and other high 
offices, and bore the largest share of the public burdens. The 
second class was called Knights, because they were bound to 
Different servc as cavalry. They filled the inferior offices, 
classes. farmed the revenue, and had the commerce of the 

country in their hands. 

The third class was called Zeugitoe (yokesmen), from their 
ability to keep a yoke of oxen. They were small farmers, 
and served in the heavy-armed infantry, and were subject to 
a property-tax. All those whose incomes fell short of two 
hundred medimni formed the fourth class, and served in the 
light-armed troops, and were exempt from property-tax, but 
disqualified for public office, and yet they had a vote in pop- 
ular elections, and in the judgment passed upon archons at 
the expiration of office. " The direct responsibility of all the 
magistrates to the popular assembly, was the most demo- 
cratic of all the institutions of Solon ; and though the gov- 
otherpoiiti- emmcnt was still in the hands of the oligarchy, 
cai changes, gojon clearly foresaw, if he did not purposely pre- 
pare for, the preponderance of the popular element." " To 
guard against hasty measures, he also instituted the Senate 
of four hundred, chosen year by year, from the four Ionic 
tribes, whose office was to prepare all business for the popular 
assembly, and regulate its meetings. The Areopagus retained 
its ancient functions, to which Solon added a general over- 
sight over all the public institutions, and over the private 
life of the citizens. He also enacted many other laws for 
the administration of justice, the regulation of social life, 
the encouragement of commerce, and the general prosperity 
of the State." His whole legislation is marked by wisdom 
and patriotism, and adaptation to the circumstances of the 
people who intrusted to him so much power and dignity. 
The laws were, however, better than the people, and his legis- 
lative wisdom and justice place him among the great bene- 
factors of mankind, for who can tell the ultimate influence 
of his legislation on Home and on other nations. The most 
beautiful feature was the responsibility of the chief magis- 



Chap. X=] Pisistratus. 105 

trates to the people who elected them, and from the fact that 
they could subsequently be punished for bad conduct was 
the greatest security against tyranny and peculation. 

After having given this constitution to his countrymen, 
the lawQfiver took his departure from Athens, for Departure of 

■,.-.. 1 11 1 1 Solon from 

ten years, bmdmg the people by a solemn oath Athens. 
to make no alteration in his laws. He visited Egypt, Cyprus, 
and Asia Minor, and returned to Athens to find his work 
nearly subverted by one of his own kinsmen. Pisistratus, 
of noble origin, but a demagogue, contrived, by his arts and 
prodisjality, to secure a sfuard, which he increased, 

... . Pisistratus. 

and succeeded in seizing the Acropolis, b. c. 560, 
and in usurping the supreme authority — so soon are good 
laws perverted, so easily are constitutions overthrown, when 
demao'02:ues and usurpers are sustained by the 

^ ^ ^ . "^ His reign. 

people. A combination of the rich and poor 
drove him into exile ; but their divisions and hatreds favored 
his return. Again he was exiled by popular dissension, and 
a third time he regained his power, but only by a battle. 
He sustained his usurpation by means of Thracian mercen- 
aries, and sent the children of all he suspected as hostages 
to Naxos. He veiled his despotic power under the forms of 
the constitution, and even submitted himself to the judgment 
of the Areopagus on the charge of murder. He kept up his 
popularity by generosity and affability, by mingling freely 
with the citizens, by opening to them his gardens, by adorn- 
ing the city with beautiful edifices, and by a liberal patronage 
of arts and letters. He founded a public library, and collected 
the Homeric poems in a single volume. He ruled benefi- 
cently, as tyrants often have, — like Caesar, like Richelieu, like 
Napoleon, — identifying his own glory with the welfare of the 
State. He died after a successful reign of thirty-three years, 
B. c . 527, and his two sons, Hippias and Hipparchus, succeeded 
him in the government, ruling, like their father, at first wisely 
"but despotically, cultivating art and letters and fx'iendship 
of great men. But sensual passions led to outrages which 
resulted in the assassination of Hipparchus. Hippias, having 



106 Grecian States and Colonies. [Chap. x. 

punished the conspirators, changed the spirit of the gov- 
. ernment, imposed arbitrary taxes, surrounded 

himself with an armed guard, and ruled tyran- 
nically and cruelly. After four years of despotic govern- 
ment, Athens was liberated, chiefly by aid of the Lace- 
daemonians, now at the highest of their power. Hippias 
retired to the court of Persia, and planned and guided the 
attack of Darius on Greece — a traitor of the most infamous 
kind, since he combined tyranny at home with the coldest 
treachery to his country. His accursed family were doomed 
to perpetual banishment, and never succeeded in securing a 
pardon. Their power had lasted fifty years, and had been 
fatal to the liberties of Athens. 

The Lacedaemonians did not retire until their kino: Cleo- 

menes formed a close friendship with Isagoras, the leader of 

the aristocratic party — and no people were prouder of their 

birth than the old Athenian nobles. Opposed to him was 

Cleisthenes, of the noble family of the Alcmseon- 

Vleisthenes, ^ ' ^ *' ^ 

ids, who had been banished in the time of 
Megacles, for the murder of Cylon, who had been treacher- 
ously enticed from the sanctuary at the altar of Athena. 
Cleisthenes gained the ear of the people, and prevailed over 
Isagoras, and effected another change in the constitution, by 
which it became still more democratic. He remodeled the 
basis of citizenship, heretofore confined to the four Ionic 
tribes ; and divided the whole country into demes, or parishes, 
each of which manao^ed its local affairs. All freemen were 
enrolled in the demes, and became members of the tribes, 
now ten in number, instead of the old four Ionian tribes. He 
The increase increased the members of the senate from four to five 
ate. hundred, fifty members being elected from each 

tribe. To this body was committed the chief functions of ex- 
ecutive government. It sat in permanence, and was divided 
into ten sections, one for each tribe, and each section or com. 
niittee, called prytany^ had the presidency of the senate and 
ecclesia during its term. Each prytany of fifty members was 
subdivided into committees of ten, each of Avhich held the 



Chap. X.] Cleisthenes. 107 

presidency for seven days, and out of these a chairman was 
chosen by lot every day, to preside in the senate and assem- 
bly, and to keep the keys of the Acropolis and treasury, and 
public seal. Nothing shows jealousy of power more than 
the brief term of office which the president exercised. 

The ecclesia, or assembly of the people, was the arena for 
the debate of all public measures. The archons 
were chosen according to the regulations of Solon, 
but were stripped of their power, which was transferred to 
the senate and ecclesia. The generals were elected by the 
people annually, one from each tribe. They were called 
stratesfi. and had also the direction of foreig:n affairs. It 
was as first strategus that Pericles governed — " prime min- 
ister of the people." 

In order to guard against the ascendency of tyrants — the 
great evil of the ancient States, Cleisthenes devised the in- 
stitution of ostracism^ by which a suspected or 

TTi 1 r> 1 • Ostracism. 

obnoxious citizen could be removed from the city 
for ten years, though practically abridged to five. It simply 
involved an exclusion from political power, without casting 
a stigma on the character. It was virtually a retirement, 
during which his property and rights remained intact, and 
attended with no disgrace. The citizens, after the senate had 
decreed the vote was needful, were required to write a name 
in an oyster shell, and he who had more than six thousand 
votes was obliged to withdraw within ten days from the 
city. The wisdom of this measure is proved in the fact that 
no tyrannical usurpation occurred at Athens after that of 
Pisistratus. This revolution which Cleisthenes effected was 
purely democratic, to which the aristocrats did not submit 
without a struggle. The aristocrats called to their aid the 
Spartans, but without other effect than creating that long 
rivalry which existed between democracy and oligarchy in 
Greece, in which Sparta and Athens were the representa- 
tives. 

About this time began the dominion of Athens over the 
islands of the ^gean, and the system of colonizing conquered 



108 Grecian States and Colonies, [Chap. x. 

States. This was the period which immediately preceded 
the Persian wars, when Athens reached the climax of political 
glory. 

Next in importance to the States which have been briefly 
„ . mentioned was BcBotia, which contained fourteen 

Bceotia. . . , ' • rm i 

cities, united in a confederacy, of which Thebes 
took the lead. They were governed by magistrates, called 
boetarchs, elected annually. In these cities aristocratic 
institutions prevailed. The people were chiefly of -^olian 
descent, with a strong mixture of the Dorian element, and 
were dull and heavy, owing, probably, to the easy facilities 
of support, in consequence of the richness of the soil. 

At the west of Bceotia, Phocis, with its small territory, 

gained great consideration from the possession 

of the Delphic oracle ; but its people thus far, of 

Achaean origin, played no important part in the politics of 

Greece. 

North of the isthmus lay the extensive plains of Thessaly, 
_ inclosed by lofty mountains. Nature favored this 

Thessaly. J J . ^ • • i 

State more than any other m Greece for political 
pre-eminence, but inhabitants of JEolian origin were any 
thing but famous. At first they were governed by kings, but 
subsequently an aristocratic government prevailed. They 
were represented in the Amphictyonic Council. 

The history of Macedonia is obscure till the time of the 
Persian wars ; but its kings claimed an Heraclid 

Macedonia. . . mi t-w • t i -i • t • 

origin. ine Doric dialect predominated m a 
rude form. 

Epirus, west of Thessaly and Macedonia, was inhabited by 
various tribes, under their own princes, until the 

Epirus. . . . 

kings of Molossis, claiming descent from Achil- 
les, founded the dynasty which was so powerful under 
Pyrrhus. 

There is but little interest connected with the States of 
Greece, before the Persian wars, except Sparta, Athens, and 
Corinth ; and hence a very brief notice is all that is needed. 

But the Grecian colonies are of more importance. They 



Chap. X.] The Ionian Cities, 109 

were numerous in the islands of the -^gean Sea, in Epirus, 
and in Asia Minor, and even extended into Italy, Grecian colo- 
Sicily, and Gaul. They were said to be planted ^^^^' 
as early as the Trojan war by the heroes who lived to re- 
turn — by Agamemnon on the coast of Asia ; by the sons 
of Theseus in Thrace ; by lalmenus on the Euxine ; by Dio- 
med and others in Italy. But colonization, to any extent, 
did not take place until the JEolians invaded Boeotia, and 
the Dorians, the Peloponnesus. The Achteans, driven from 
their homes by the Dorians, sought new seats in the East, 
under chieftains who claimed descent from Agamemnon and 
other heroes who went to the siege of Troy. They settled, 
first, on the Isle of Lesbos, where they founded six cities. 
Others made settlements on the mainland, from the Hermes 
to Mount Ida. But the greatest migration was made by the 
lonians, who, dislodged by Achseans, went first to Attica, and 
thence to the Cyclades and the coasts of Asia, afterward 
called Ionia. Twelve independent States were gradually 
formed of divers elements, and assumed the Ionian name. 
Among those twelve cities, or States, were Samos, Chios, 
Miletus, Ephesus, Colophon, and Phocsea. The Ti:e Ionian 

^ ^ ' ^ ' . cities in Asia 

purest Ionian blood was found at Miletus, the seat Minor. 
of ISTeleus. These cities were probably inhabited by other 
races before the lonians came. To these another was subse- 
quently added — Smyrna, which still retains its ancient name. 
The southwest corner of the Asiatic peninsula, about the 
same time, was colonized by a body of Dorians, accom- 
panied by conquered Achseans, the chief seat of which was 
Halicarnassus. Crete, Rhodes, Cos, and Cnidus, were col- 
onized also by the same people ; but Rhodes is the parent 
of the Greek colonies on the south coast of Asia Minor. A 
century afterward, Cyprus was founded, and then Sicily was 
colonized, and then the south of Italy. They were suc- 
cessively colonized by difierent Grecian tribes, Achaean or 
jEolian, Dorian, and Ionian. But all the colonists had to 
contend with races previously established, Iberians, Phoeni- 
cians, Sicanians, and Sicels. Among the Greek cities in 



110 Grecian States and Colonies. [Ohap. X. 

Sicily, Syracuse, founded by Dorians, was the most import- 
ant, and became, in turn, the founder of other cities. Sybaris 
and Croton, in the south of Italy, were of Achaean origin. 
The Greeks even penetrated to the northern part of Africa, 
and founded Gyrene ; while, on the Euxine, along the north 
coast of Asia Minor, Gyzicus and Sinope arose. These mi- 
grations were generally undertaken with the approbation and 
encourao;ement of the mother States. There was no colo- 
nial jealousy, and no dependence. The colonists, straitened 
for room at home, carried the benedictions of their fathers, 
and were emancipated from their control. Sometimes the 
colony became more j)Owerful than the parent State, but 
both colonies and parent States were bound together by 
strong ties of religion, language, customs, and interests. The 
colonists uniformly became conquerors where they settled, 
but ever retained their connection with the mother country. 
And they grew more rapidly than the States from which 
they came, and their institutions were more democratic. 
The Asiatic colonies especially, made great advances in civil- 
ization by their contact with the East. Music, poetry, and 
art were cultivated with great enthusiasm. The lonians 
took the lead, and their principal city, Miletus, is said to 
have planted no less than eighty colonies. The greatness of 
Ephesus was of a later date, owing, in part, to the splendid 
temple of Artemis, to which Asiatics as well as Greeks 
made contributions. One of the most lemarkable of the 
Greek colonies was Gyrene, on the coast of Africa, which was 
of peculiar beauty, and was famous for eight hundred years. 
So the Greeks, although they occupied a small territory, 
yet, by their numerous colonies in all those parts watered by 
the Mediterranean, formed, if not politically, at least socially, 
Political im- a powerful empire, and exercised a vast influence 
the colonies, on the civilizcd world. From Gyprus to Mar- 
seilles — from the Grimea to Gyrene, numerous States spoke 
the same language, and practiced the same rites, which were 
observed in Athens and Sparta. Hence the great extent of 
country in Asia and Europe to which the Greek language 



Chap. X.] Grecian Colonics. Ill 

was familiar, and still more the arts whicli made Athens the 
centre of a new civilization. Some of the most noted phil- 
osophers and artists of antiquity were born in these colonies. 
The power of Hellas was not a centralized empire, like 
Persia, or even Rome, but a domain in the heart ^nd mind 
of the world. It was Hellas which worked out, in its various 
States and colonies, great problems of government, as well 
as social life. Hellas was the parent of arts, of poetry, of 
philosophy, and of all sesthetic culture — the pattern of new 
forms of life, and new modes of cultivation. It is this Gre- 
cian civilization which appeared in full development as early 
as five hundred years before the Christian era, which we now 
propose, in a short chapter, to present — the era which immedi- 
ately preceded the Persian wars. 



CKAPTEE XI. 

GEECIAN CIVILIZATION BEFORE THE PERSIAN WARS. 

We understand by civilization the progress which nations 
Early ciyiii- have made in art, literature, material strength, 
zation. social Culture, and political institutions, by which 

habits are softened, the mind enlarged, the soul elevated, and 
a wise government, by laws, established, protecting the weak, 
punishing the wicked, and developing wealth and national 

resources. 

Such a civilization did exist to a remarkable degree among 

the Greeks, which was not only the admiration of their own 
times, but a wonder to all succeeding ages, since it was es- 
tablished by the unaided powers of man, and affected the 
relations of all the nations of Europe and Asia which fell 
under its influence. 

It is this which we propose briefly to present in this chap- 
ter, not the highest developments of Grecian culture and 
genius, but such as existed in the period immediately pre- 
ceding the Persian wars. 

One important feature in the civilization of Greece was 
the prosrress made in leorislation bv Lvcuro-us and 

Legislation, r o t> J J o 

Solon. But as this has been alluded to, we j)ass 
on to consider first those institutions which were more 
national and universal. 

The peculiar situations of the various States, independent 
of each other, warlike, encroaching, and ambitious, led 
naturally to numerous wars, which would have been civil 
wars had all these petty States been united under a common 
government. But incessant wars, growing out of endless 
causes of irritation, would have soon ruined these States, 
and they could have had no proper development. Some- 



Chap. XI.] The AmpMctyoniG Council. 113 

thing was needed to restrain passion and heal dissensions 
without a resort to arms, ever attended by dire calamities. 
And something was needed to unite these various States, in 
which the same language was spoken, and the same religion 
and customs prevailed. This union was partially effected by 
the Amphictyonic Council. It was a congress, TheAmphtc- 
composed of deputies from the different States, cii. 
and deliberating according to rules established from time 
immemorial. Its meetings were held in two different places, 
and were convened twice a year, once in the spring, at Del- 
phi, the other in the autumn, near the pass of Thermopylae. 
Delphi was probably the original place of meeting, and was, 
therefore, in one important sense, the capital of Greece. 
Originally, this council or congress was composed of depu- 
ties from twelve States, or tribes — Thessalians, Boeotians, 
Dorians, lonians, Perrhaebians, Magnetes, Locrians, Octseans, 
Phthiots, Achseans, Melians, and Phocians. These tribes 
assembled together before authentic history commences, be- 
fore the return of the Heracleids. There were other States 
which were not represented in this league — Arcadia, Elis, 
JEolia, and Acarnania; but the league was sufficiently 
powerful to make its decisions respected by the greater part 
of Greece. Each tribe, whether powerful or weak, had two 
votes in the assembly. Beside those members who had the 
exclusive power of voting, there were others, and more na- 
merous, who had the privilege of deliberation. The object 
of the council was more for religious purposes than political, 
although, on rare occasions and national crises, subjects of a 
political nature were discussed. The council laid down the 
rules of war, by which each State that was represented was 
guaranteed against complete subjection, and the supplies of 
war were protected. There was no confederacy against 
foreign powers. The functions of the league were confined 
to matters purely domestic ; the object of the league was the 
protection of temples against sacrilege. But the council 
bad no common army to execute its decrees, which were 
often disregarded. In particular, the protection of the Del 

8 



114 Greoian Cl'mlization. [Chap. xi. 

pbic oracle, it acted with dignity and effect, whose responses 
were universally respected. 

As the Delphic oracle was the object which engrossed the 
The Delphic ^ost important duties of the council, and the re- 
oracie. gponscs of this oraclc in early times was a sacred 

law, the deliberations of the league had considerable influ- 
ence, and were often directed to political purposes. But the 
immediate management of the oracle was in the hands of 
the citizens of Delphi. In process of time the responses of 
the oracle, by the mouth of a woman, which were thus con- 
trolled by the Delphians, lost much of their prestige, in con- 
sequence of the presents or bribery by which favorable 
responses were gained. 

More powerful than this council, as an institution, were 
The oiym- the Olympic games, solemnized every four years, 
pic games. -^^ which all the States of Greece took part. These 
games lasted four days, and were of* engrossing interest. 
They were supposed to be founded by Hercules, and were of 
very ancient date. During these celebrations there was a 
universal truce, and also during the time it was necessary 
for the people to assemble and retire to their homes. Elis, 
in whose territory Olympia was situated, had the whole 
regulation of the festival, the immediate object of which 
"were various trials of strength and skill. They included 
chariot races, foot races, horse races, wrestling, boxing, and 
leaping. They were open to all, even to the poorest Greeks ; 
no accidents of birth or condition affected these honorable 
contests. The palm of honor was given to the men who 
had real merit. A simple garland of leaves was the prize, 
but this was sufficient to call out all the energies and am- 
bition of the whole nation. There were, however, incidental 
advantages to successftd combatants. At Athens, the citi- 
zen who gained a prize was rewarded by five hundred 
drachmas, and was entitled to a seat at the table of the 
magistrates, and had a conspicuous part on the field of 
battle. The victors had statues erected to them, and called 
forth the praises of the poets, and thus these primitive sports 



Chap. XI.] Grecian Games. 115 

incidentally gave an impulse to art and poetry. In latei 
times, poets and historians recited their compositions, and 
were rewarded with the garland of leaves. The victors of 
these games thus acquired a social pre-eminence, and were held 
in especial honor, like those heroes in the Middle Ages who 
obtained the honor of tournaments and tilts, and, in modern 
times, those who receive decoration at the hands of kings. 

The celebrity of the Olympic games, which drew specta- 
tors from Asia as well as all the States of Greece, r^^^ pythian 
led to similar institutions or festivals in other places, games. 
The Pythian games, in honor of Apollo, were celebrated near 
Delphi every third Olympic year ; and various musical con- 
tests, exercises in poetry, exhibitions of works of art were 
added to gymnastic exercises and chariot and horse races. 
The sacrifices, j^rocessions, and other solemnities, resemble 
those at Olympia in honor of Zeus. They lasted as long as 
the Olympic games, down to a. d. 394. Wherever the wor- 
ship of Apollo was introduced, there were imitations of these 
Pythian games in all the States of Greece. 

The Nemsean and Isthmian games were celebrated each 
twice in every Olympiad, the former on the plain TheFemaean 

*'*'■'•' ^ , -^ , and iPthmian 

of Nemsea, in Argolis ; the latter in the Corinthian games. 
Isthmus, under the presidency of Corinth. These also 
claimed a high antiquity, and at these were celebrated the 
same feats of strength as at Olympia. But the Olympic 
festival was the rejoresentation of all the rest, and trans- 
cended all the rest in national importance. It was viewed 
with so much interest, that the Greeks measured time itself 
by them. It was Olympiads, and not years, by which the 
date of all events was determined. The Romans reckoned 
their years from the foundation of their city ; modern Chris- 
tian nations, by the birth of Christ; Mohammedans, by the 
flight of the prophet to Medina ; and the Greeks, from the 
first recorded Olympiad, b. c. 776. 

It was in these festivals, at which no foreigner, however, 
eminent, was allowed to contend for prizes, that Effect of 

^ , . T . . ,, these festi- 

tne Greeks buried tneir quarrels, and mcited each vais. 



116 Grecian Civilization, [Chap. xi. 

other to heroism. The places in which they were celebrated 
became marts of commerce like the mediaeval fairs of Ger- 
many ; and the vast assemblage of spectators favored that 
communication of news, and inventions, and improvements 
which has been produced by our modern exhibitions. These 
games answered all the purposes of our races, our industrial 
exhibitions, and our anniversaries, religious, political, educa- 
tional, and literary, and thus had a most decided influence 
on the development of Grecian thought and enterprise. 
The exhibition of sculpture and painting alone made them 
attractive and intellectual, while the athletic exercises 
amused ordinary minds. They were not demoralizing, like 
the sports of the amphitheatre, or a modern bull-fight, or 
even fashionable races. They were more like tourna- 
ments in the martial ages of Europe, but superior to them 
vastly, since no woman was allowed to be present at the 
Olympic games under pain of death. 

It has already been shown that the form of government in 
^, . the States of Ancient Greece, in the Homeric 

Cnanses in ' 

government, asces, was monarchical. In two or three hundred 
years after the Trojan war, the authority of kings had greatly 
diminished. The great immigration and convulsions destroyed 
the line of the ancient royal houses. The abolition of royalty 
was in substance rather than name. First, it was divided 
among several persons, then it was made elective, first for 
life, afterward for a definite period. The nobles or chief- 
tains gained increasing power with the decline of royalty, and 
the government became, in many States, aristocratic. But 
the nobles abused their power by making an oligarchy, 
which is a perverted aristocracy. This aroused hatred and 
opposition on the part of the people, especially in the maritime 
cities, where the increase of wealth by commerce and the 
arts raised up a body of powerful citizens. Then followed 
popular revolutions under leaders or demagogues. These 
leaders in turn became tyrants, and their exactions gave rise 
to more hatred than that produced by the government of 
powerful families. They gained power by stratagem, and per- 



Chap. XI.] Political Changes. 117 

verted it by violence. But to amuse the people whom they 
oppressed, or to please them, they built temples. Erection of 
theatres, and other public buildings, in which a ^^^p^^^- 
liberal patronage was extended to the arts. Thus Athens and 
Corinth, before the Persian wars, were beautiful cities, from 
the lavish expenditure of the public treasury by the tyrants 
or despots who had gained ascendency. In the mean time, 
those who were most eminent for wealth, or power, or virtue, 
were persecuted, for fear they would effect a revolution. But 
the parties which the tyrants had trampled upon were rather 
exasperated than ruined, and they seized every opportunity 
to rally the people under their standard, and effect an over- 
throw of the tyrants. Sparta, whose constitution remained 
aristocratic, generally was ready to assist any State in throw- 
ing off the yoke of the usurpers. In some States, like 
Athens, every change favored the rise of the people, who 
gradually obtained the ascendency. They instituted the prin- 
ciple of legal equality, by which every freeman was Legal equaii- 
supposed to exercise the attributes of sovereignty, cai rights. 
But democracy invariably led to the ascendency of factions, 
and became itself a tyranny. It became jealous of all who 
were distinguished for birth, or wealth, or talents. It en- 
couraged flatterers and sycophants. It was insatiable in its 
demands on the property of the rich, and listened to charges 
which exposed them to exile and their estates to confisca- 
tion. It increased the public burdens by unwise expendi- 
tures to please the men of the lower classes who possessed 
political franchise. 

But different forms of government existed in different 
States. In Sparta there was an oligarchy of nobles which 
made royalty a shadow, and which kept the people in slavery 
and degradation. In Athens the democratic principle pre- 
vailed. In Argos kings reigned down to the Persian wars. 
In Corinth the government went through mutations jPj.5[^®g^^J^ 
as at Athens. In all the States and cities experi- government, 
ments in the various forms of government were perpetually 
made and perpetually failed. They existed for a time, and 



118 Grecian Civilization. [Chap. xi. 

were in turn supplanted. The most permanent government 
was that of Sparta ; the most unstable was that of Athens. 
The former promoted a lofty patriotism and public morality 
and the national virtues ; the latter inequalities of wealth, 
the rise of obscure individuals, and the progress of arts. 

The fall of the ancient monarchies and aristocracies was 
Commercial closcly Connected with commercial enterprise and 
enterprise. ^-^^ increase of a wealthy class of citizens. In the 
beginning of the seventh century before Christ, a great 
improvement in the art of ship-building was made, especial- 
ly at Corinth. Colonial settlements kept pace with mari- 
time enterprise ; and both of these fostered commerce and 
wealth. The Euxine lost its terrors to navigators, and the 
jEgean Sea was filled with ships and colonists. The 
Adriatic Sea was penetrated, and all the seas connected 
with the Mediterranean. From the mouth of the Po was 
brought amber, which was highly valued by the ancients. A 
great number of people were drawn to Egypt, by the liberal 
offers of its kings, who went there for the pursuit of knowl- 
edge and of wealth, and from thence they brought back the 
papyrus as a cheap material for writing. The productions of 
Greece were exchanged for the rich fabrics which only Asia 
furnished, and the cities to which these were brought, like 
Athens and Corinth, rapidly grew rich, like Venice and Genoa 
in the Middle Agjes. 

Wealth of course introduced art. The origin of art may have 
Increase of been in religious ideas — in temples and the statues 
wealth. ^£ ^jjg gods — in tombs and monuments of great 

men. But wealth immeasurably increased the facilities both 
for architecture and sculpture. Artists in old times, as in 
these, sought a pecuniary reward — patrons who could afford 
to buy their productions, and stimulate their genius. Art 
Introduction was Cultivated more rapidly in the Asiatic colonies 
*'^^^** than in the mother country, both on account of 

their wealth, and the objects of interest around them. The 
Ionian cities, especially, were distinguished for luxury and 
refinement. Corinth took the lead in the early patronage 



Chap. XL] The Fine Arts. 119 

of art, as the most wealthy and luxurious of the Grecian 
cities. 

The first great impulse was given to architecture. The 
Pelasgi had erected Cyclopean structures fifteen ArcMtec- 
hundred years before Christ. The Dorians built *^'^®' 
temples on the severest principles of beauty, and the Doric 
column arose, massive and elegant. Long before the Persian 
wars the temples were numerous and grand, yet simple and 
harmonious. The temple of Hera, at Samos, was begun in 
the eighth century, b. c, and built in the Doric style, and. 
soon after, beautiful structures ornamented Athens. 

Sculpture rapidly followed architecture, and passed from 
the stiffness of ancient times to that beauty which 

Sculpture. 

afterward distinguished Phidias and Polynotus. 
Schools of art, in the sixth century, flourished in all the 
Grecian cities. We can not enter upon the details, from the 
use of wood to brass and marble. The temples were filled 
with groups from celebrated masters, and their deep recesses 
were peopled with colossal forms. Gold, silver, and ivory 
were used as well as marble and brass. The statues of heroes 
adorned every public place. Art, before the Persian wars, 
did not indeed reach the refinement which it subsequently 
boasted, but a great progress was made in it, in all its 
forms. Engraving was also known, and imperfect pictures 
were painted. But this art, and indeed any of the arts, did 
not culminate until after the Persian wars. 

Literature made equal if not greater progress in the early 
asfes of Grecian history. Hesiod lived b. c. 735 ; ^.^ ^ 

o •'^ ^ ^ Literature. 

and lyric poetry flourished in the sixth and 
seventh centuries before Christ, especially the elegiac form, 
or songs for the dead. Epic poetry was of still earlier 
date, as seen in the Homeric poems. The JEolian and Ionic 
Greeks of Asia were early noted for celebrated poets. Al- 
cgeus and Sappho lived on the Isle of Lesbos, and were sur- 
rounded with admirers. Anacreon of Teos was courted by 
the rulers of Athens. 

Even philosophy was cultivated at this early age. Thales 



120 Grecian Civilization. [Chap. xi. 

of Miletus flourisTied in the middle of the seventh century, 
and Anaximander, born b. o. 610 — one of the great 
original mathematicians of the world, who speculated 
like Thales, on the origin of things. Pythagoras, born in 
Samos, B. c. 580 — a still greater name, grave and majestic, 
taught the harmony of the spheres long before the Ionian 
revolt. 

But neither art, nor literature, nor philosophy reached 
their full development till a later era. It is enough for our 
purpose to say that, before the Persian wars, civilization was 
by no means contemptible, in all those departments which 
subsequently made Greece the teacher and the glory of the 
world. 



CHAPTEE XII. 

THE PERSIAlSr WAE. 

We come now to the most important and interesting period of 
Grecian history — the great contest with Persia — the age of 
heroes and of battle-fields, when military glory was the mas- 
ter passion of a noble race. What inspiration have all ages 
gained from that noble contest in behalf of liberty ! 

We have seen how Asiatic cities were colonized by Greeks, 
among whom the lonians were pre-eminent. The cities were 
governed by tyrants, who were sustained in their usurpation 
by the power of Persia, then the great power of the world. 
Darius, then king, had absurdly invaded Scythia, with an 
immense army of six hundred thousand men, to Condition of 

*' ^ ' the Ionian 

punish the people for their inroad upon Western cities. 
Asia, subject to his sway, about a century before. He was 
followed by his allies, the tyrants of the Ionian cities, to 
whom he intrusted the guardianship of the bridge of boats 
by which he had crossed the Danube, b. c. 510. As he did 
not return within the time specified — sixty days — the Greeks 
■were left at l^erty to return. A body of Scythians then 
appeared, who urged the Greeks to destroy the bridge, as 
Darius was in full retreat, and thus secure the de- invasion of 

. Scythia 07 

struction of the Persian army and the recovery oi Darius, 
their own liberty. Miltiades, who ruled the Chersonese — the 
future hero of Marathon, seconded the wise proposal of the 
Scythians, but HistisBus, tyrant of Miletus, feared that such; 
an act would recoil upon themselves, and favor another 
inroad of Scythians — a fierce nation of barbarians. The 
result was that the bridge was not destroyed, but the further 
end of it was severed from the shore. Night arrived, and the 



122 The Persian War. [Chap. xn. 

Persian hosts appeared upon the banks of the river, hut find- 
ing no trace of it, Darius ordered an Egyptian who had a 
trumpet-voice to summon to his aid Histigeus, the Milesian. 
He came forward with a fleet and restored the bridge, and 
Darius and his army were saved, and the opportunity was 
lost to the lonians for emancipating themselves from the 
Persians. The bridge was preserved, not from honorable 
fidelity to fulfill a trust, but selfish regard in the despot of 
Miletus to maintain his power. For this service he was 
rewarded with a principality on the Strymon. Exciting, how- 
ever, the suspicion of Darius, by his intrigues, he was carried 
captive to the Persian court, but with every mark of honor. 
Darius left his brother Artaphernes as governor of all the 
cities in Western Asia Minor. 

A few years after this unsuccessful invasion of Scythia by 
Darius, a political conflict broke out in Naxos, an island of 
the Cyclades, b. c. 502, which had not submitted to the Per- 
sian yoke, and the oligarchy, which ruled the island, were 
expelled. They applied for aid to Aristagoras, the tyrant 
of Miletus, the largest of the Ionian cities, who persuaded 
the Persian satrap to send an expedition against the island. 
The expedition failed, which ruined the credit of Aristagor- 
as, son-in-law to Histiseus, who was himself incensed at his 
detention in Susa, and who sent a trusty slave with a mes- 
Eevoitofthe sagc Urging the lonians to revolt. Aristagoras, 

Ionian cities ^ ^ -t . t i ^ 

from Persia, as a meaus 01 success, conciliated popular lavor 
throughout Asiatic Greece, by putting down the various 
tyrants — the instruments of Persian ascendency. The flames 
of revolt were kindled, the despots were expelled, the re- 
volted towns were put in a state of defense, and Aristagoras 
visited Sparta to invoke its aid, inflaming the mind of the 
king with the untold wealth of Asia, which would become 
his spoil. Sparta was then at war with her neighbors, and 
unwilling to become involved in so uncertain a contest. 
Kejected at Sparta, Aristagoras proceeded to Athens, then 
the second power in Greece, and was favorably received, for 
the Athenians had a powerful sympathy with the revolted 



Chap. XII. ] Reoonqxiest of the Ionian Cities. 123 

lonians ; they agreed to send a fleet of twenty ships. When 
Aristagoras returned, the Persians had commenced the siege 
of Miletus. The twenty ships soon crossed the ^gean, 
and were joined by five Eretrian ships coming to the succor 
of Miletus. An unsuccessful attempt of Aristagoras on Sar- 
dis disgusted the Athenians, who abandoned the alliance. 
But the accidental burning of the city, including the temple 
of the goddess Cybele, encouraged the revolters, and incensed 
the Persians. Other Greek cities on the coast took part in 
the revolt, including the island of Cyprus. The revolt now 
assumed a serious character. The Persians rallied their 
allies, among whom were the Phoenicians. An armament of 
Persians and Phoenicians sailed against Cyprus, and a victory 
on the land gave the Persians the control of the island. A 
large army of Persians and their allies collected at Sardis, 
and, under different divisions reconquered all their p,efpatof the 
principal Ionian cities, except Miletus; but the Ionian cities. 
Ionian fleet kept its ascendency at sea. Aristagoras as the 
Persians advanced, lost courage and fled to Myrcinus, where 
he shortly afterward perished. 

Meanwhile Histiseus presented himself at the gates of Mile- 
tus, having procured the consent of Darius to pro- 
ceed thither to quell the revolt. He was, liow- 
ever, suspected by the satrap, Artaphernes, and fled to Chios, 
"whose people he gained over, and who carried him back to 
Miletus. On his arrival, he found the citizens averse to his 
reception, and was obliged to return to Chios, and then to 
Lesbos, where he abandoned himself to piracy. 

A vast Persian host, however, had been concentrated near 
Miletus, and Avith the assistance of the Phoenicians, invested 
the city by sea and land. The entire force of the confeder- 
ated cities abandoned the Milesians to their fate, and took 
to their ships, three hundred and fifty-three in number,, 
with a view of fighting the Phoenicians, who had six hundred 
ships. But there was a want of union among Wantofuni- 

, -f . ^ T 1 .1 1 on among the 

tne Ionian commanders, and the sailors aban- Ionian cities. 
doned themselves to disorder and carelessness ; upon which 



124 The Persian War, [Chap, xil 

Dionysius, of Phocsea, which furnished but three ships, 
rebuked the lonians for their neglect of discipline. His 
rebuke was not thrown away, and the lonians having their 
comfortable tents on shor»e, submitted themselves to the 
nautical labors imposed by Dionysius. At last, after seven 
days of work, the Ionian sailors broke out in open mutiny, 
and refused longer to be under the discipline of a man whose 
State furnished the smallest number of ships. They left 
their ships, and resumed their pleasures on the shore, un- 
willing to endure the discipline so necessary in so great a 
crisis. Their camp became a scene of disunion and mistrust. 
The Samians, in particular, were discontented, and on the 
day of battle, which was to decide the fortunes of Ionia, 
they deserted with sixty ships, and other lonians followed 
their example. The ships of Chios, one hundred in number, 
fought with great fidelity and resolution, and Dionysius cap- 
tured, with his three ships, three of the Phoenicians'. But 
these exceptional examples of bravery did not compensate the 
Their signal treachery and cowardice of the rest, and the con- 
defeat. scquencc was a complete defeat of the lonians at 

Lade. Dionysius, seeing the ruin of the Ionian camp, did 
not return to his own city, and set sail for the Phoenician 
coast, doing all he could as a pirate. 

This victory of Lade enabled the Persians to attack Miletus 
Attack of by sea as well as land ; the siege was prosecuted 
Miletus. ^y^^ij vigor, and the city shortly fell. The adult 
male population was slain, while the women and children 
were sent as slaves to Susa. The Milesian territory was 
devastated and stripped of its inhabitants. The other States 
hastened to make their submission, and the revolt was 
crushed, b. c. 496, five years after its commencement. The 
Complete Persian forces reconquered all the Asiatic Greeks, 
theTonSn ^ iusular and continental, and the Athenian Miltiades 
Greeks. escaped with difficulty from his command in the 

Chersonese, to his native city. All the threats which were 
made by the Persians were realized. The most beautiful 
virgins were distributed among the Persian nobles ; the 



Chap. XII.] Prejparaiions of Davius, 125 

cities were destroyed ; and Samos alone remained, as a 
reward for desertion at the battle of Lade. 

The reconquest of Ionia being completed, the satrap Arta- 
phernes proceeded to orjiijanize the future govern- Aitaphemea 

, . , , . T . If. organizes the 

ment, tlie mhabitants now being composed oi a govcmmeut. 
great number of Persians. Meanwhile, Darius made prepa- 
rations for the complete conquest of Greece. The wisdom of 
the advice of Miltiades, to destroy the bridge over the Dan- 
ube, when Darius and his army would have been annihil- 
ated by the Scythians, was now apparent. Mardonius was 
sent with a large army into Ionia, who deposed the despots 
in the various cities, whom Artaphernes had reinstated, and 
left the people to govern themselves, subject to the Persian 
dominion and tribute. He did not remain long in Ionia, but 
passed with his fleet to the Hellespont, and joined panus pre- 
his land forces. He transported his army to Eu- /JlvSon^o?^ 
rope, and began his march through Thrace. Thence ^^■*^^^^' 
he marched into Macedonia, and subdued a part of its inhab- 
itants. He then sent his fleet around Mount Athos, with a 
view of joining it with his army at the Gulf of Therma, But 
a storm overtook his fleet near Athos, and destroyed three 
hundred ships, and drowned twenty thousand men. This 
disaster compelled a retreat, and he recrossed the Hellespont 
with the shame of failure. He was employed no more by 
the Persian king. 

Darius, incited by the traitor Hippias, made new i^repara- 
tion for the invasion of Greece. He sent his her- His im- 
alds in every direction, demanding the customary jSratfoiS^ 
token of submission — earth and water. Many of the conti- 
nental cities sent in their submission, including the Thebans, 
Thessalians, and the island of ^gina, which was on bad 
terms with Athens. The heralds of Darius were put to death 
at Athens and Sparta, which can only be explained from the 
fiercest resentment and rage. These two powers made com- 
mon cause, and armed all the other States over which they had 
influence, to resist the Persian domination. Hellas, headed 
by Sparta, now resolved to put forth all its energies, and 



126 The Persian War. [Chap. x:i. 

embarked, in desperate hostility. A war wliich Sparta had 
been waging for several years against Argos crippled that 
ancient State, and she was no longer the leading power. The 
only rival which Sparta feared was weakened, and full scope 
was given for the prosecution of the Persian war. >^gina, 
which had submitted to Darius, was visited by Cleomenes, 
king of Sparta, and hostages were sent to Athens for the 
neutrality of that island. Athens and Sparta suspended 
their political jealousies, and acted in concert to resist the 
common danger. 

By the spring of 490 b. c, the preparations of Darius were 
iiiflvast completed, and a vast army collected on a plain 
^™^' upon the Cilician shore. A fleet of six hundred 

Bhips convoyed it to the rendezvous at Samos. The exiled 
tyrant Hippias was present to guide the forces to the attack 
of Attica. The Mede Datis, and Artaphernes, son of the 
satrap of Sardis, nephew to Darius, were the Persian gen- 
erals. They had orders from Darius to bring the inhabitants 
of Athens as slaves to his presence. 

The Persian fleet, fearing a disaster such as had happened 
The Persian "*^^^ Mouut Athos, struck directly across the 
fleet. ^gean, from Samos to Euboea, attacking on the 

way the intermediate islands. ISTaxos thus was invaded and 
easily subdued. From Naxos, Datis sent his fleet round the 
other Cyclades Islands, demanding reinforcements and hos- 
tages from all he visited, and reached the southern extremity 
of Euboea in safety. Etruria was first subdued, unable to 
resist. After halting a few days at this city, he crossed 
to Attica, and landed in the bay of Marathon, on the eastern 
coast. The despot Hippias, son of Pisistratus, twenty years 
after his expulsion from Athens, pointed out the way. 

But a great change had taken place at Athens since fiis 
Political expulsion. The city was now under democratic 

snange at . , •' 

A^thens. rule, in its best estate. The ten tribes had become 
identified with the government and institutions of the city. 
The senate of the areopagus, renovated by the annual 
archons, was in sympathy with the people. Great men had 



Chap. XII.] The Athenian Generpls, 127 

arisen under the amazing stimulus of liberty, among wlicm 
Miltiacler>, Themistocles, and Aristides were the most dis- 
tinguished. Miltiades, after an absence of six years in the 
Chersoiiesus of Thrace, returned to the city full of patriotic 
ardor. He was broug-ht to trial before the popu- Miitiades, 
lar assembly on the charge oi havnig misgov- generals. 
erned the Chersonese ; but he was honorably acquitted, and 
was chosen one of the ten generals of the republic annu- 
ally elected. He was not, however, a politician of the 
democratic stamp, like Themistocles and Aristides, being a 
descendant of an illustrious race, which traced their lineage 
to the gods ; but he was patriotic, brave, and decided. His 
advice to burn the bridge over the Danube illustrates his 
character — bold and far-seeing. Moreover, he was peculi- 
arly hostile to Darius, whom he had so grievously offended. 

Themistocles was a man of great native genius and sagacity. 
He comprehended all the embarrassments and dan- Themis- 
gers of the political crisis in which his city was t"c^«^s. 
placed, and saw at a glance the true course to be pursued. 
He was also bold and daring. He was not favored by the 
accidents of birth, and owed very little to education. He 
had an unbounded passion for glory and for display. He had 
great tact in the management of party, and was intent on 
the aggrandizement of his country. His morality was reck- 
less, but his intelligence was great — a sort of Mirabeau ; 
with his passion, his eloquence, and his talents. His unfor- 
tunate end — a traitor and an exile — shows how little intel- 
lectual pre-eminence will avail, in the long run, without 
virtue, although such talents as he exhibited will be found 
useful in a crisis. 

Aristides was inferior to both Alcibiades and Themisto- 
cles in o^enius, in resource, in boldness, and in . . ., 

. . . . • n ^ • Aristides. 

energy ; but superior in virtue, in public fidelity, 
and moral elevation. He pursued a consistent course, was no 
demagogue, unflinching in the discharge of trusts, just, 
upright, unspotted. Such a man, of course, in a corrupt 
society, would be exposed to many enmities and jealousies. 



128 The Persian War, [Chap. xn. 

But he was, on the whole, appreciated, and died, in a period 
of war and revolution, a poor man, with unbounded means 
of becoming rich — one of the few examples which our world 
affords of a man who believed in virtue, in God, and a judg- 
ment to come, and who preferred the future and spiritual to 
the present and material— a fool in the eyes of the sordid 
and bad — a wise man according to the eternal standards. 

Aristides, Miltiades, and perhaps Themistocles, were 
elected among the ten generals, by the ten tribes, in the year 
that Datis led his expedition to Marathon. Each of thq ten 
generals had the supreme command of the army for a day. 
Great alarm was felt at Athens as tidings of the advancing 
and conquering Persians reached the city. Couriers were 
A^.hens ai- sent in hot haste to the other cities, especially 

Tips liGrsdi 

with Sparta. Sparta, and one was found to make the journey to 
Sparta on foot — one hundred and fifty miles — in forty-eight 
hours. The Spartans agreed to march, without delay, after 
the last quarter of the moon, which custom and superstition 
dictated. This delay was fraught with danger, but was insisted 
upon by the Spartans. 

Meanwhile the dangers multiplied and thickened. The 
Persians were at Marathon. It was urged by Miltiades that 
Prominence not a moment should be lost in bringing the Per- 
dangers. sians into action. Five of the generals counseled 

delay. The polemarch, Callimachus, who then had the casting 
vote, decided for immediate action. Themistocles and Aristides 
had seconded the advice of Miltiades, to whom the other gen- 
erals surrendered their days of command — a rare example 
of patriotic disinterestedness. The Athenians marched at once 
to Marathon to meet their foes, and were joined by the Pla- 
taeans, one thousand warriors, from a little city — the whole 
armed population, which had a great moral effect. 

The Athenians had only ten thousand hoplites, including 
Marshaling' ^^^^ ^"® tliousand from Platsea. The Persian army 
oftheGre- ^^^^ variouslv estimated at from one hundred and ten 

eian lorces 

at Marathon, thousaud to six hundred thousand. The Greeks 



Chap. XII.] The Battle of Marathon. 129 

were encamped upon the higher ground overlooking 
the plain wliich their enemies occupied. The fleet was 
ranged along the beach. The Greeks advanced to the com- 
bat in rapid movement, urged on by the war-cry, which ever 
animated their charges. The wings of the Persian army 
were put to flight by the audacity of the charge, but the 
centre, where the best troops were posted, resisted the 
attack until Miltiades returned from the pursuit The battle of 
of the retreating soldiers on the wings. The defeat ^^^athoQ. 
of the Persians was the result. They fled to their 
ships, and became involved in the marshes. Six thousand 
four hundred men fell on the Persian side, and only one hun- 
dred and ninety-two on the Athenian. The Persians, though 
defeated, still retained their ships, and sailed toward Cape 
Sunium, with a view of another descent upon Attica. Mil- 
tiades, the victor in the most glorious battle ever till then 
fought in Greece, penetrated the designs of the Persians, and 
rapidly retreated to Athens on the very day of battle. 
Datis arrived at the port of Phalerum to discover that his 
plans were baffled, and that the Athenians were still ready to 
oppose him. The energy and promptness of Miltiades had 
saved the city. Datis, discouraged, set sail, without land- 
ing, to the Cyclades. 

The battle of Marathon, b. c. 490, must be regarded as 
oxiQ of the great decisive battles of the world, and the 
first which raised the political importance of the Jesuits of 
Greeks in the eyes of foreign powers. It was *^® ''^'^"^®- 
fought by Athens twenty years after the expulsion of the 
tyrants, and as a democratic State. On the Athenians rest 
the glory forever. It was not important for the number 
of men who fell on either side, but for giving the first great 
check to the Persian domination, and preventing their con- 
quest of Europe. And its moral effect was greater than its 
political. It freed the Greeks from that fear of the Persians 
which was so fatal and universal, for the tide of Persian 
conquest had been hitherto uninterrupted. It animated the 
Greeks with fresh courage, for the bravery of the Athenians 



130 The Persian War. [Chap. xii. 

had been unexampled, as had been the generalshij^ of Mil- 
tiades. Athens was delivered by the almost supernatural 
bravery of its warriors, and was then prepared to make 
those sacrifices which were necessary in the more desperate 
struggles which were to come. And it inspired the people 
with patriotic ardor, and upheld the new civil constitution. 
It gave force and dignity to the democracy, and prepared it 
for future and exalted triumphs. It also gave force to the 
religious sentiments of the people, for such a victory was 
regarded as owing to the special favor of the gods. 

The SjDartans did not arrive until after the battlejiad been 
fought, and Datis had returned with his Etrurian prisoners 
to Asia. 

The victory of Marathon raised the military fame of Mil- 
Fame of tiades to the most exalted height, and there were 
Miitiades. ^Q bounds to the enthusiasm of the Athenians. 
But the victory turned his head, and he lost both prudence 
and patriotism. He persuaded his countrymen, in the full 
tide of his j^opularity, to intrust him with seventy ships, 
with an adequate force, with powers to direct an expedition 
according to his pleasure. The armament was cheerfully 
granted. But he disgracefully failed in an attack on the 
island of Paros, to gratify a private vindictive animosity. 
His subse- He lost all his eclaL and was impeached. He 

quent re- n i -j 

verses. appealed, wounded and disabled from a fall he had 

received, to his previous services. He was found guilty, but 

escaped the penalty of death, but not of a fine of fifty talents. 

He did not live to pay it, or redeem his fame, but 

His death. . . . . . 

died of the injury he had received. Thus this 
great man fell from a pinnacle of glory to the deepest dis- 
grace and ruin — a fate deserved, for he was not true to him- 
self or coimtry. The Athenians were not to blame, but 
judged him rightly It was not fickleness, but a change in 
their opinions, founded on sufficient grounds, from the deep 
disappointment in finding that their hero was unworthy of 
their regards. No man who had rendered a favor has a 
claim to pursue a course of selfishness and unlawful ambi- 



Chap. XII.] Rivalries of Party Leaders. 131 

tion. No services can offset crimes. The Athenians, in 
their unbounded admiration, had given unbounded trust, 
and that trust was abused. And as the greatest despots 
who had mounted to power had earned their success by 
early services, so had they abused their power by imposing 
fetters, and the Athenians, just escaped from the tyranny of 
these despots, felt a natural jealousy and a deep repugnance, 
in spite of their previous admiration. The Athenians, in their 
treatment of Miltiades, were neither ungrateful nor fickle, 
but acted from a high sense of public morality, and in a 
stern regard to justice, without which the new constitution 
would soon have been subverted. On the death of Miltiades 
Themistocles and Aristides became the two lead- Jealousies 

... between 

mo- men of Athens, and their rivalries composed the AiisUdes and 

Themis- 
domestic history of the city, until the renewed and tocies. 

vast preparations of the Persians caused all dissensions to be 

suspended for the public good. 

But the jealousies and rivalries of these great men were 
not altogether personal. They were both patriotic, but each 
had different views respecting the course which Athens should 
adopt in the greatness of the dangers which impended. The 
policy of Aristides was to strengthen the army — that of 
Themistocles, the navy. Both foresaw the national dangers, 
but Themistocles felt that the hopes of Greece rested on 
ships rather than armies to resist the Persians, jjotaito- 
And his policy was adopted. As the world can personal" 
not have two suns, so Athens could not be pros- g^'^'^i^'is- 
pered by the presence of two such great men, each advocat- 
ing different views. One or the other must succumb to the 
general good, and Aristides was banished by the power of 
ostracism. 

The wrath of Darius — a man of great force of character, 
but haughty and self-sufficient, was tremendous when he 
learned the defeat of Datis, and his retreat into Asia. He 
resolved to bring the whole force of the Persian Eenewed 

1 A 1 • r« preparations 

empire together to subdue the Athenians, irom oinariua. 
whom he had suffered so great a disgrace. Three years were 



182 The Persian War. [Chap. xii. 

spent in active preparations for a new expedition which 
should be overwhelming. All the allies of Persia were called 
upon for men and supplies. Nor was he deterred by a revolt 
of Egypt, which broke out about this time, and he was on 
■a- A y. the point of carrying two gigantic enterprises — one 
for the reconquest of Egypt, and the other for the 
conquest of Greece — when he died, after a reign of thirty-six 
years, b. a 485. 

He was succeeded by his son Xerxes, who was animated 
_ by the animosities, but not the sjenius of his father. 

Xerxes. •' . ' ^ ^ 

Though beautiful and tall, he was faint-hearted, 
vain, blinded by a sense of power, and enslaved by women. 
Yet he continued the preparations which Darius projected. 
Egypt was first subdued by his generals, and he then turned 
his undivided attention to Greece. He convoked the digni- 
taries of his empire — the princes and governors of provinces, 
and announced his resolution to bridge over the Hellespont 
and march to the conquest of Europe. Artabanus, his 
Ijnele, dissuaded him from the enterprise, setting forth espe- 
cially the probability that the Greeks, if victorious at sea, 
would destroy the bridge, and thus prevent his safe return. 
Mardonius advised differently, urging ambition and revenge, 
motives not lost on the Persian monarch. For four years 
the preparations went forward from all parts of the empire, 
including even the islands in the JEgean. In the autumn of 
481 B. c, the largest army this world has ever seen assem- 
His enor- bled at Sardis. Besides this, a powerful fleet of 
mionr^^'^" one thousand two hundred and seven ships of war, 
besides transports, was collected at the Hellespont. Large 
magazines of provisions were formed along the coast of Asia 
Minor. A double bridge of boats, extending from Abydos to 
Sestos — a mile' in length across the Hellespont, was construct- 
ed by Phoenicians and Egyptians ; but this was destroyed by a 
storm. Xerxes, in a transport of fury, caused the heads of 
the engineers to be cut off, and the sea itself scourged with 
three hundred lashes. This insane wrath being expended, 
the monarch caused the work to be at once reconstructed, 



Chap. XII.] Passage of the Sellesjpont. 133 

this time by the aid of Greek engineers. Two bridges were 
built side by side upon more than six hundred His bridges 
large ships, moored with strong anchors, with their Hellespont 
heads toward the ^gean. Over each bridge were stretched six 
vast cables, which held the ships together, and over these 
were laid planks of wood, upon which a causeway was formed 
of wood and earth, with a high palisade on each side. To 
facilitate his march, Xerxes also constructed a canal across 
the isthmus which connects Mount Athos with the main 
land, on Avhich were employed Phoenician engineers. The 
men employed in digging the canal worked under the whip. 
Bridges were also thrown across the river Strymon. 

These works were completed while Xerxes wintered at 
Sardis. From that city he dispatched heralds to all the 
cities of Greece, except Sparta and Athens, to demand the 
usual tokens of submission — earth and water. He also sent 
orders to the maritime cities of Thrace and Macedonia to pre- 
pare dinner for himself and hosts, as they passed through. 
Greece was struck with consternation as the news reached 
the various cities of the vast forces which were on the march 
to subdue them. The army proceeded from Sardis, ^.^ advance 
in t?ie spring, in two grand columns, between 
which were the king and guards and select troops — all native 
Persians, ten thousand foot and ten thousand horse. From 
Sardis the hosts of Xerxes proceeded to Abydos, through 
Ilium, where his two bridges across the Hellespont awaited 
him. From a marble throne the proud and vainglorious 
monarch saw his vast army defile over the bridges, perfumed 
with frankincense and strewed with myrtle boughs. One 
bridge was devoted to the troops, the other -to the beasts and 
baffofaore. The first to cross were the ten thou- He crosses 

the Helles- 

sand household troops, called Immortals, wearing pont. 
garlands on their heads ; then followed Xerxes himself in 
his gilded chariot, and then the rest of the army. It occu- 
pied seven days for the vast hosts to cross the bridge. 
Xerxes then directed his march to Doriscus, in Thrace, near 
the mouth of the Hebrus, where he joined his fleet. There he 



134 The Persian War, [Chap. xii. 

took a general review, and never, probably, was so great an 
army marshaled before or since, and composed of so many 
His review various nations. There were assembled nations 
of Ms army. £^.^^ ^^^^ Indus, from the Persian Gulf, the Red 
Sea, the Levant, the ^gean and the Euxine — Egyptian, 
Ethiopian, and Lybian. Forty-six nations were represented 
— all that were tributary to Persia. From the estimates 
made by Herodotus, there were one million seven hundred 
thousand foot, eighty thousand horse, besides a large 
number of chariots. With the men who manned the fleet 
and those he pressed into his service on the march, the 
aggregate of his forces was two million six hundred and forty 
thousand. Scarcely an inferior number attended the soldiers 
as slaves, sutlers, and other persons, swelling the amount of 
the males to five million two hundred and eighty-three thou- 
sand two hundred and twenty — the whole available force of 
the Eastern world — Asia against Europe : as in mediaeval 
times it was Europe against Asia. It is, however, impossi- 
ble for us to believe in so large a force, since it could not 
have been supplied with provisions. But with every de- 
duction, it was still the largest army the world ever saw. 

After the grand enumeration of forces, Xerxes passed in 
The magni- liis chariot to survcv separately each body of 

tude of his . ,.11 • tt n 

forces. contmgents, to which he put questions. He then 

embarked in a gilded galley, and sailed past the prows of 
the twelve hundred ships moored four hundred feet from the 
shore. That such a vast force could be resisted was not even 
supposed to be conceivable by the blinded monarch. But 
.Demaratus, the exiled king of Sparta, told him he would be 
resisted unto death, a statement which was received with de- 
rision. 

After the review, the grand army pursued its course west- 
ward in three divisions and roads along Thrace, levying enor- 
mous contributions on all the Grecian towns, which sub- 
Progress of mitted as the Persian monarch marched alono;, for 

the Per- 

Bians. how could they resist? The mere provisioning 

this great host for a single day impoverished the country. 



Chap. XII.] Desperate Grecian Preparations. 135 

But there was no help, for to mortal eyes the success of 
Xerxes was certain. At Acanthus, Xerxes separated from 
his fleet, which was directed to sail round Mount Athos, 
while he pursued his march through Pseonia and Crestonia, 
and rejoin him at Therma, on the Thermaic Gulf, in Macedo- 
nia, within sight of Mount Olympus. 

Meanwhile, the Athenians, fully alive to their danger, 
strained every nerve to make preparations to resist Preparations 
the enemy. Fortunately, there was in the treasury mans! 
a large sum derived from the Lamian mines, and this they 
applied, on the urgent representations of Themistocles, to 
building ships and refitting their navy. A Panhellenic 
congress, under the presidency of Athens and Sparta, 
assembled at the Isthmus of Corinth — the first great league 
since the Trojan war. The representatives of the various 
States buried their dissensions, the most prominent of which 
were between Athens and ^gjina. In reconciling^ these 
feuds, Themistocles took a pre-eminent part. Indeed, there 
was need, for the political existence of Hellas was threatened, 
and despair was seen in most every city. Even the Delphic 
oracle gave out replies discouraging and terrible* intimating, 
however, that the safety of Athens lay in the wooden wall, 
which, with extraordinary tact, Avas interj3reted by Themis- 
tocles to mean that the true defense lay in the navy. 
Salamis was the place designated by the oracle for the re- 
treat, which was now imperative, and thither the Athenians 
fled, with their wives and children, guarded by their fleet. 
It was decided by the congrese that Sparta should Sparta com- 
command the land forces, and Athens the united land forces 
navy of the Greeks ; but many States, in deadly the naval. 
fear of the Persians, persisted in neutrality, among which 
were Argos, Crete, Corcyra. The chief glory of the de- 
fense lay with Sparta and Athens. The united army was 
sent into Thessaly to defend the defile of Tempe, but dis- 
covering that they were unable to do this, since another pass 
over Mount Olympus was open in the summer, they retreat- 
ed to the isthmus of Corinth, and left all Greece north of 



136 The Persian War. [Chap. xii. 

Mount Citheron and tlie MegariJ territory without defense. 
Had the Greeks been able to maintain the passes of Olympus 
and Ossa, all the northern States would probably have joined 
in the confederation against Persia ; but, as they were left 
defenseless, we can not wonder that they submitted, including 
even the Achseans, Boeotians, and Dorians. 

The Pass of Thermopylae was now fixed upon as the 
The pass of most Convenient place of resistance, next to the 
^^eimopy- ^^^^^ ^^ Tcmpc. Here the main land was separ- 
ated from the island of Euboea by a narrow strait two miles 
wide. On the northern part of the island, near the town of 
Histisea, the coast was called Artemisium, and here the fleet 
was mustered, to co-operate with the land forces, and oppose, 
in a narrow strait, the progress of the Persian fleet. The 
defile of Thermopylae itself, at the south of Thessaly, was 
between Mount CEta and an impassable morass on the Maliac 
Gulf. ISTature had thus provided a double position of defense 
—a narrow defile on the land, and a narrow strait on the 
water, through which the army and the fleet must need pass 
if they would co-operate. 

While the cono-ress resolved to avail themselves of the 
Interruption double Dositiou. bv sca and land, the Olympic 

of military ^ ' -r^. n ^ r^ . 

preparations ffamcs, and the sfreat Dorian, of the Carneia, were 

bytheOIym- * , ' ^, ^ ,^ , -,. -, • / 

pic games, at hand, ihese could not be dispensed with, even 
in the most extraordinary crisis to which the nation could be 
exposed. While, therefore, the Greeks assembled to keep the 
national festivals, probably from religious and superstitious 
motives, auguring no good if they were disregarded, 
Leonidas, king of Sparta, with three hundred Spartans, two 
thousand one hundred and twenty Arcadians, four hundred 
Corinthians, two hundred men from Philius, and eighty from 
Mycenae — in all three thousand one hundred hoplites, besides 
Helots and light troops, was sent to defend the pass against 
the Persian hosts. On the march through Boeotia one thou- 
sand men from Thebes and Thespiae joined them, though on 
the point of submission to Xerxes. The Athenians sent their 
whole force on board their ships, joined by the Plataeans. 



Chap, xtt.] The Pass of Thermopylce. 137 

It was in the summer of 480 b. c. when Xerxes reached 
Therma, about which time the Greeks arrived at their allotted 
posts. Leonidas took his position in the middle of the Pass 
— a mile in length, with two narrow openings. Leonivias 
He then repaired the old wall built across the Pass pass of 
by the Phocians, and awaited the coming of the be.''^"^"^^' 
enemy, for it was supposed his force was sufficient to hold it 
till the games were over. It was also thought that this nar- 
row pass was the only means of access possible to the invad- 
ing army ; but it was soon discovered that there was also a 
narrow mountain path from the Phocian territory to Ther- 
mopylae. The Phocians agreed to guard this path, and leave 
the defense of the main pass to the Peloponnesian troops. 
But Leonidas painfully felt that his men were insufficient in 
number, and found it necessary to send envoys to the different 
States for immediate re-enforcements. 

The Greek fleet, assembled at Artemisium, was composed 
of two hundred and seventy-one triremes and nine pentecon- 
ters, commanded by Themistocles, but furnished The Greek 
by the different States. A disaster happened to *^*^^' 
the Greeks very early ; three triremes were captured by the 
Persians, which caused great discouragement, and in a panic 
the Greeks abandoned their strong naval position, and sailed 
up the Euboean Strait to Chalcis. This was a great misfor- 
tune, since the rear of the array of Leonidas was no longer 
protected by tha fleet. But a destructive storm dispersed 
the fleet of the Persians at this imminent crisis, so that it 
was impossible to lend aid to their army now arrived at 
Thermopylae. Four hundred ships of war, together with a 
vast number of transports, were thus destroyed. Disaster to 
The storm lasted three days. After this disaster fleet. 
to the Persians, the Greek fleet returned to Artemisium. 
Xerxes encamped within sight of Thermopylae four days, 
without makino; an -attack, on account of the dano-ers to which 
his fleet were exposed. On the fifth day he became wroth 
at the impudence and boldness of the petty force which 
quietly remained to dispute his passage, for the Spartans 



138 TliG Persian War. [Chap. xii. 

amused themselves with athletic sports and combing their 
hair. Nor was it altogetlier presumption on the part of the 
Greeks, for there were four or five thousand heavily-armed 
men, the bravest in the land, to defend a passage scarcely 
wider than a carriage-road — with a wall and other defenses 
in front. 

The first attack on the Greeks was made by the Medes — 
the bravest of the Persian army, but their arrows and short 
Attack on spears were of little avail against the phalanx 
by'thrper- which opposcd, armed with long spears, and pro- 
^^'^"^' tected by shields. For two days the attack con- 

tinued, and was constantly repulsed, for only a small detach- 
ment of Greeks fought at a time. Even the " Immortals " — 
the chosen band of Xerxes — were repulsed with a great loss, 
to the agony and shame of Xerxes. 

On the third day, a Malian revealed to the Persian king 
the fact that a narrow path, leading over the mountains, was 
defended only by Phocians, and that this path led to the rear 
of the Spartans. A stVong detachment of Persians was sent 
in the night to secure this path, and the Phocian guardians 
fled. The Persians descended the path, and attacked the 
Leonuias Greeks in their rear. Leonidas soon became 
p.ass"but^s apprised of his danger, but in time to send away 
Biaih. -j^jg array. It was now clear that Thermopyla6 

could no longer be defended, but the heroic and self-sacrific- 
ing general resolved to remain, and sell his life as dearly as 
possible, and retard, if he could not resist, the march of the 
enemy. Three hundred Spartans, with seven hundred Thes- 
pians and four hundred Thebans joined him, while the rest 
retired to fight another day. It required all the efforts of 
the Persian generals, assisted by the whip, to force the men 
to attack this devoted band. The Greeks fought with the 
most desperate bravery, till their spears were broken, and 
Heroic no wcapous remained but their swords and da2:Q:ers. 

death of the at, t, tt ^^^^^ 

three hun- At last, exhausted, they died, surrounded by vast 
tans. forces, after having made the most heroic defense 

in the history of the war. Only one man, Aristodemus, 



Chap. XII.] Battle of Artemisium. 139 

returned to his home of all the three hundred Spartans, but 
only to receive scorn and infamy. The Tlieban band alone 
yielded to the Persians, but only at the last hour. 

Nothinoj could exceed the blended ang-er and admiration 
of Xerxes as he beheld this memorable resistance, r^-^^ dismay 
He now saw, for the first time, the difficulty of Jjoli' of '"'''" 
subduing such a people as the Greeks, resolved to x«'"^es. 
resist unto death. His mind was perplexed, and he did not 
know what course to adopt. Had he accepted the advice 
of Demaratus, to make war on the southern coast of Laconia, 
and thus distract the Spartans and prevent their co-opera- 
tion with Athens, he would have probably succeeded. 

But he followed other councils. Meanwhile, the Persian 
fleet rallied after the storm, and was still formidable, 
in spite of losses. The Greeks were disposed to retire 
and leave the strait open to the enemy. The Euboeans, 
seeing the evil which would happen to them if their 
island was unprotected, sent to Themistocles a present 
of thirty talents, if he would keep his position. This 
money he spent in bribing the different commanders who 
wished to retire, and it was resolved to remain. The Persians, 
confident of an easy victory, sent round the island of Euboea 
a detachment of two hundred ships, to cut off all hopes of 
escape to the ships which they expected to capture. A 
deserter revealed the intelligence to Themistocles, and 
it was resolved to fight the Persians, thus weakened, at 
once, but at the close of the day, so that the battle would 
not be decisive. The battle of Artemisium was a Naval battle 
sort of skirmish, to accustom the Greeks to the slum. 
Phoenician mode of fighting. It was, however, successful, 
and thirty ships of the Persians were taken or disabled. 

But the Greeks derived a greater succor than ships and 
men. Another storm overtook the Persians, damaged their 
fleet, and destroyed the squadron sent round the island of 
Euboea. Another sea-fight was the result, since Themisto- 
the Greeks were not only aided by the storm, but SakS. 
by re-enforcements ; but this second fight was indecisive. 



140 TJie Persian War. [Chap. xii. 

Themistocles now felt he could not hold the strait against 
superior numbers, and the disaster of Thermopylae being also 
now known, he resolved to retreat farther into Greece, and 
sailed for Salamis. 

At this pei-iod the Greeks generally were filled with con- 
Despair of sternation and disappointment. Neither the Pass 
the Greeks. ^^ Thermopylae, nor the strait which connected the 
Maliacus Gulf with the JEgean, had been successfully de- 
fended. The army of Xerxes was advancing through Phocis 
and BcBotia to the Isthmus of Corinth, while the navy sailed 
unobstructed through the Euboean Sea. On the part of the 
Greeks there had been no preparations commensurate with 
the greatness of the crisis, while, had they rallied to Ther- 
mopylae, instead of wasting time at the festivals, they would 
have saved the pass, and the army of Xerxes, strained for 
provisions, would have been compelled to retreat. The 
Lacedaemonians, aroused by the death of their king, at last 
made vigorous efibrts to fortify the Isthmus of Corinth, too 
late, however, to defend Boeotia and Attica. The situation 
of Athens was now hopeless, and it was seen what a fatal 
mistake had been made not to defend, with the whole force 
of Greece, the Pass of Thermopylae. There was no help 
from the Spartans, for they had all flocked to the Isthmus of 
Corinth, as the last chance of protecting the Peloponnesus. 
In despair, the Athenians resolved to abandon Athens, with 
their families, and take shelter at Salamis. Themistocles 
Themisto- alonc was undismayed, and souojht to encourage 

cles revives . ./ ^ o o 

couracre by his countrymcn that the " wooden wall " would 

his "'wooden .„ , , . , . rr^, . , . • ,> t 

wall." Still be their salvation. ihe Athenians, it dis- 

mayed, did not lose their energies. The recall of the exiles 
was decreed by Themistocles' suggestion. With incredible 
efforts the whole population of Attica was removed to Sala- 
mis, and the hopes of all were centered in the ships. Xerxes 
took possession of the deserted city, but found but five hun- 
dred captives. He ravaged the country, and a detachment 
of Persians even penetrated to Delphi, to rob the shrine, but 
were defeated. Athens was, however, sacked. 



Chap, xii.i Battle of Solamis. 141 

The combined fleet of the Greeks now numbered three 
hundred and sixty-six ships, more than half of The hostile 

1 • 1 A 1 • -n r • ^ 1 fleets at Sal- 

wnich were Athenian. Many wished to retreat to amis. 
the Isthmus of Corinth, and co-operate with the Spartans. 
Dissensions came near wrecking the last hopes of Greece, 
and Themistocles only prevailed by threatening to withdraw 
the Athenian shijDS unless a battle were at once fought. He 
resorted to stratagem to compel the fleet to remain together, 
with no outlet of escape if conquered. Aristides came in 
the night from ^gina, and informed the Greeks that their 
whole fleet was surrounded by the Persians — just what 
Themistocles desired. There was nothing then left but to 
fight with desperation, for on the issue of the battle de- 
pended the fortunes of Greece. Both fleets were stationed 
in the strait between the bay of Eleusis and the Saronic 
Gulf, on the west of the island of Salamis. 

Xerxes, seated upon a throne upon one of the declivities of 
Mount JEgaleos, surveyed the armaments and the seif-cons- 
coming battle. Both parties fought with bravery ; xerxes. 
but the space was too narrow for the Persians to engage their 
whole fleet, and they had not the discipline of the Greeks, 
schooled by severe experience. The Persian fleet became un- 
manageable, and the victory was gained by the Greeks. Two 
hundred ships fell into the hands of the victors. But a sufii- 
cient number remained to the Persians to renew the battle 
with better hopes. Xerxes, however, was intimidated, and in a 
transport of rage, disappointment, and fear, gave the order to 
retreat. He distrusted the fidelity of the allies, and feared for 
his own personal safety ; he feared that the victors would sail 
to the Hellespont, and destroy the bridges. Themistocles, 
on the retreat of the Persians, employed his fleet in levying 
fines and contributions upon the islands which had Battle of sa- 
supported the Persians, while Xerxes made his retreatof 
way back to the Hellespont, and crossed to ^^^^^' 
Asia, leaving Mardonius in Thessaly, with a large army, 
to pursue the conquest on land. 

Thus Greece was saved by the battle of Salamis, and the 



142 The Persian War, [Chap. xn. 

distinguished services of Themistocles, which can not be too 
The import- highly estimated. The terrific cloud was dispersed, 
ant results. ^^^ ^j^^ Grccks abandoned themselves to joy. Un- 
paralleled honors were bestowed upon the victor, especially 
in Sparta, and his influence, like that of Alcibiades, after 
the battle of Marathon, was unbounded. No man ever 
merited greater reward. 

Though the Persians now abandoned all hopes of any fur 
Mardonius thcr maritime attack, yet still great success was an- 
mand orthe ticipatcd from the immense army which Mardonius 
eibians. commanded. The Greeks in the northern parts still 
adhered to him, and Thessaly was prostrate at his feet. He 
sent Alexander, of Macedon, to Athens to offer honorable 
terms of peace, which were nobly rejected, and he was sent 
back with this message : "Tell Mardonius that as long as the 
sun shall continue in his present path we will never contract 
alliance with a foe who has shown no reverence to our gods 
and heroes^ and who has burned their statues and houses." 
The league was renewed with Sparta for mutual defense and 
offense, in spite of seductive offers from Mardonius ; but 
the Spartans displayed both indifference and selfishness to 
any interests outside the Peloponnesus. They fortified the 
Isthmus of Corinth, but left Attica undefended. Mardonius 
accordingly marched to Athens, and again the city was the 
spoil of the Persians. The Athenians again retreated to 
Salamis, with bitter feelings against Sparta for her selfishness 
and ingratitude. Again Mardonius sought to concihate the 
Athenians, and again his overtures were rejected with wrath 
and defiance. The Athenians, distressed, sent envoys to Sparta 
to remonstrate against her slackness and selfishness, not 
without effect, for, at last, a large Spartan force was col- 
He ravages lected under Pausanias. Meanwhile Mardonius 
Boeotia. ravaged Attica and Boeotia, and then fortified his . 

camp near Platsea, ten furlongs square. Platsea was a 
plain favorable to the action of the cavalry, not far from 
Thebes ; but his army was discouraged after so many disas- 
ters — in modern military language, demoralized — while Ar- 



CiiAp. XII.] Preparations for Battle. 143 

tabazus, the second in command, was filled with jealousy, 
Nor could much be hoped from the Grecian allies, who secretly 
were hostile to the invaders. The Thebans and Boeotians 
appeared to be zealous, but were governed by fear merely of 
a superior power, and hence were unreliable. It can not 
be supposed that the Thebans, who sided with the Persians, 
by compulsion, preferred their cause to that of their country- 
men, great as may have been national jealousy and rivalries. 
The total number of Lacedaemonians, Corinthians, Atheni- 
ans, and other Greeks, assembled to meet the Per- ^^^^ Greeks 

' ' assemble 

sian army, b. c. 479, was thirty-eig^ht thousand seven ag'ii'.'st the 

•^ ' ' JO Persians at 

hundred men, heavily armed, and seventy-one Piatsea. 
thousand three hundred light armed, without defensive ar- 
mor ; but most of these were simply in attendance on the 
hoplites. The Persians, about three hundred thousand in 
number, occupied the line of the river Asopus, on a plain ; 
the Greeks stationed themselves on the mountain declivity 
near Erythrge. The Persian cavalry charged, to dislodge the 
Greeks, unwilling to contend on the plain ; but the ground 
was unfavorable for cavalry operations, and after a brief suc- 
cess, it was driven back, while the general, Masistius, who 
commanded it, was slain. His death, and the repulse of the 
cavalry, so much encouraged Pausanias, the Spartan general, 
that he quitted his ground on the mountain declivity, and 
took position on the plain beneath. The Lacedaemonians 
composed the right wing ; the Athenians, the left ; and various 
other allies, the centre. Mardonius then slight- preparations 
ly changed his position, crossing the Asopus, nearer 
his own camp, and took post on the left wing, opposite the 
right wing of the Greeks, commanded by Pausanias. Both 
armies then offered sacrifices to the gods, but Mardonius was 
able to give constant annoyance to the Greeks by his caval- 
ry, and the Thebans gave great assistance. Ten days were 
thus spent by the two armies, without coming into general 
action, until Mardonius, on becoming impatient, against the 
advice of Artabazus, second in command, resolved to com- 
mence the attack. The Greeks were forewarned of his in- 



144 ' The Pe'^sian War, [Chap. xii. 

tention, by Alexander of Macedon, who came secretly to the 
Greek camp at night — a proof that he, as well as others, were 
mipatient of the Persian yoke. The Lacedaemonians, posted in 
the right wing, against the Persians, changed places with the 
Athenians, who were more accustomed to Persian warfare ; 
but this manoeuvre being detected, Mardonius made a corre- 
sponding change in his own army — upon which Pausanias led 
back again his troops to the right wing, and a second move- 
ment of Mardonius placed the armies in the original position, 

A vigorous attack of the Persian cavalry now followed, 
Battle of Avhich SO aunoycd the Greeks, that Pausanias in 
piatsea. ^j^^ nio-ht resolvcd to chancre once ag-ain his 

position, and retreated to the hilly ground, north of Plataea, 
about twenty furlongs distant, not without confusion and 
mistrust on the part of the Athenians. Mardonius, astonished 
at this movement, pursued, and a general engagement fol- 
lowed. Both armies fought with desperate courage, but dis- 
cipline was on the side of the Greeks, and Mardonius was slain, 
fighting gallantly with his guard. Artabazus, with the forty 
thousand Persians under his immediate command, had not 
taken part, and now gave orders to retreat, and retired from 
Greece. The main body, however, of the defeated Persians 
retired to their fortified camp. This was attacked by the 
Lacedaemonians, and carried with immense slaughter, so that 
only three thousand men survived out of the army of Mar- 
donius, save the forty thousand which Artabazus — a more 
able captain — had led away. The defeat of the Persians 
was complete, and the spoils which fell to the victors Avas 
immense — gold and silver, arms, ca];pets, clothing, horses, 
camels, and even the rich tent of Xerxes himself, left with 
Mardonius. The booty was distributed among the different 
contingents of the army. The real victors were the Lace- 
daemonians, Athenians, and Tegeans; the Corinthians did 
not reach the field till the battle was ended, and thus missed 
their share of the spoil. 

There was one ally of the Persians which Pausanias re- 
solved to punish — the city of Thebes where a merited chas- 



Chap. XII.] Battle of Mycale. 14S 

tisement was inflicted, and the customary solemnities were 
observed, and honors decreed for the greatest chastise- 
and most decisive victory which the Greeks had Thebes. 
ever gained. A confederacy was held at Plataea, in which a 
permanent league was made between the leading Grecian 
States, not to separate until the common foe was driven back 
to Asia. 

While these great events were transpiring in Boeotia, the 
fleet of the Greeks, after the battle of Salamis, un- ^attie ^f 
dertook to rescue Samos from the Persians, and ^>''=^^®- 
secure the independence of the Ionian cities in Asia. The 
Persian fleet, now disheartened, abandoned Samos and re- 
tired to Mycale, in Ionia. The Greek fleet followed, but the 
Persians abandoned or dismissed their fleet, and joined their 
forces with those of Tigranes, who, with an army of sixty 
thousand men, guarded Ionia. The Greeks disembarked, 
and prepared to attack the enemy just as the news reached 
them of the battle of Plataea. This attack was successful, 
partly in consequence of the revolt of the lonians in the 
Persian camp, although the Persians fought with great 
bravery. The battle of Mycale was as complete as that of 
Plataea and Marathon, and the remnants of the Persian 
army retired to Sardis. The Ionian cities were thus, for the 
time, delivered of the Persians, as well as Greece itself, 
chiefly by means of the iVthenians and Corinthians. The 
Spartans, with inconceivable narrowness, were reluctant to 
receive the continental lonians as allies, and proposed to 
transport them across the JEgean into Western Greece, 
which proposal was most honorably rejected by the Athe- 
nians. In every thing, except the defense of Greece Proper, 
and especially the Peloponnesus, the Spartans showed them- 
selves inferior to the Athenians in magnanimity and enlarged 
views. After the capture of Sestos, b. c. 478, which re- 
lieved the Thracian Chersonese from the Persians, the fleet of 
Athens returned home. The capture of this city concludes 
the narration of Herodotus, and ended virtually the Persian 
war, although hostilities were continued in Asia. The battle 

10 



146 The Persian War, [Chap. xii. 

of Marathon had given the first effective resistance to 
Persian conquests, and created confidence among the Greeks. 
The battle of Salamis had destroyed the power of Persia on 
the sea, and prevented any co-operation of land and naval 
forces. The battle of Platsea freed Greece altogether of 
the invaders. The battle of Mycale rescued the Ionian cities. 
Athens had, on the whole, most distinguished herself in 
jji^j^i this great and glorious contest, and now stood 

Athens^and ^^^^ ^^ the guardian of Hellenic interests on the 
Sparta. ggg^ ^.xi^ the leader of the Ionian race. Sparta con- 

tinued to take the lead of the military States, to which Athens 
had generously submitted. But a serious rivalry now was 
seen between these leading States, chiefly through the 
jealousy of Sparta, which ultimately proved fatal to that 
supremacy which the Greeks might have maintained over all 
the powers of the world. Sparta wished that Athens might 
remain unfortified, in common with all the cities of Northern 
Greece, while the isthmus should be the centre of all the 
works of defense. But Athens, under the sagacious and 
crafty management of Themistocles, amused the Spartans 
by delays, while the whole population were employed upon 
restoring its fortifications. 

Although the war against the Persians was virtually con- 
cluded by the capture of Sestos, an expedition was fitted 
out by Sparta, under Pausanias, the hero of Platsea, to prose- 
cute hostilities on the shores of Asia. After liberating most 
of the cities of Cyprus, and wresting Byzantium from the 
Persians, which thus left the Euxine free to Athenian shijDS, 
from which the Greeks derived their chief supplies of for- 
eign corn, Pausanias, giddy with his victories, unaccountably 
began a treasonable correspondence with Xerxes, whose 
daughter he wished to marry, promising to bring all Greece 
again under his sway. He was recalled to Sparta, before 
this correspondence was known, having given offense by 
Disgrace and adojDting the Persian dress, and surrounding him- 
sanias! Self with Persian and Median guards. When his 

treason was at last detected, he attempted to raise a rebel- 



Chap. XII.] Corruption of Themistocles. 147 

lion among the Helots, but failed, and died miserably by 
hunger in the temple in which he had taken sanctuary. 

A fall scarcely less melancholy came to the illustrious 
Themistocles. In spite of his great services, his popularity 
began to decline. He was hated by the Spartans Fail of The 
for the part he took in the fortification of the city, ""^t^^^^^- 
who brought all their influence against him. He gave um- 
brage to the citizens by his personal vanity, continually boast- 
ing of his services. He erected a private chapel in honor of 
Artemis. He prostituted his great influence for arbitrary 
and corrupt purposes. He accepted bribes without scruple, 
to the detriment of the State, and in violation of justice and 
right. And as the Persians could ofier the highest bribes, 
he was suspected of secretly favoring their interests. The 
old rivalries between him and Aristides were renewed ; and 
as Aristides was no longer opposed to the policy which 
Athens adopted, of giving its supreme attention to naval 
defenses, and, moreover, constantly had gained the respect 
of the city by his integrity and patriotism, especially by his 
admirable management at Delos, where he cemented the 
confederacy of the maritime States, his influence was per- 
haps greater than that of Themistocles, stained with the im- 
putation of Medism. Cimon, the son of Miltiades, 
also became a strong opponent. Though acquitted 
of accepting bribes from Persia, Themistocles was banished 
by a vote of ostracism, as Aristides had been before — a kind 
of exile which was not dishonorable, but resorted to from 
regard to public interests, and to which men wlio became un- 
popular were often subjected, whatever may have been their 
services or merits. He retired to Argos, and while there tho" 
treason of Pausanias was discovered. Themistocles was in- 
volved in it, since the designs of Pausanias were known by 
him. Joint envoys from Sparta and Athens were sent to. 
arrest him, which, when known, he fled to Corcyra, and 
thence to Admetus, king of the Molossians. The Epirotic 
prince shielded him in spite of his former hostility, and fur- 
nished him with guides to Pydna, across the mountains, from 



148 The Persian War. [Chap. xii. 

which he succeeded in reaching Ephesus, and then repaired 
to the Persian court. At Athens he was proclaimed a 
traitor, and his property, amounting to one hundred talents, 
accumulated by the war, was confiscated. In Persia, he 
represented himself as a deserter, and subsequently acquired 
influence with Artaxerxes, and devoted his talents to laying 
Themisto- ^"* schemcs for the subjugation of Greece. He 
cies. received the large sum of fifty talents yearly, and 

died at sixty-five years of age, with a blighted reputation, 
such as no previous services could redeem from infamy. 

Aristides died four years after the ostracism of Themis- 
Death of tocles, universally respected, and he died so poor 
Aristides. ^g jjq^ ^q have cuough for his funeral expenses. 
Nor did any of his descendants ever become rich. 

Xerxes himself, the Ahasuerus of the Scriptures, who 
commanded the largest expedition ever recorded in human 
annals, reached Sardis, eight months after he had left it, dis- 
gusted with active enterprise, and buried himself amid the 
intrigues of his court and seraglio, in Susa, as recorded in the 
Death of book of Esther. He was not deficient in generous 
impulses, but deficient in all those qualities which 
make men victorious in war. He died fifteen years after, the 
victim of a conspiracy, in his palace, b. c. 465 — six years after 
Themistocles had sought his protection. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE AGE OF PERICLES. 

With the defeat of the Persian armies, Athens and Sparta 
became, respectively, the leaders of two great parties in 
Greece. Athens advocated maritime interests and Rivalry be- 
democratic institutions ; Sparta was the champion Secian*^^ 
of the continental and oligarchal powers. The one s^^***^' 
was Ionian, and organized the league of Delos, under the man- 
agement of Aristides ; the other was Dorian, and chief of the 
Peloponnesian confederacy. The rivalries between these lead- 
in sf States involved a strife between those ideas and interests 
of which each was the recognized representative. Those 
States which previously had been severed from each other by 
geographical position and diversity of interests, now rallied 
under the guidance either of Athens or Sparta. The intrigues 
of Themistocles and Pausanias had prevented that Panhel- 
lenic union, so necessary for the full development of political 
power, and which was for a time promoted by the Persian 
war. Athens, in particular, gradually came to regard herself 
as a pre-eminent power, to which the other States were to be 
tributary. Her empire, based on maritime supremacy, became 
a tyranny to which it was hard for the old allies to submit. 

But the rivalry between Sparta and Athens was still more 
marked. Sparta had thus far taken the lead among the Gre- 
cian States, and Athens had submitted to it in the pre-eminent- 
Persian invasion. But the consciousness of new /thenl'and 
powers, which naval warfare developed, the ^p*'''^^- 
eclat of the battles of Marathon and Salamis, and the con- 
federacy of Delos, changed the relative position of the two 
States. Moreover, to Athens the highest glory of resisting 



150 The Age of Pericles, [Chap. xiii. 

the Persians was due, while her patriotic and enlarged spirit 
favorably contrasted with the narrow and selfish policy of 
Sparta. 

And this policy was seen in nothing more signally than in 
b'^r^lrta"to ^^® opposition she made to the new fortifications of 
thefortifi- Athens, so that Themistocles was oblig^ed to go to 

cations of ' o o 

Athens. Sparta, and cover up by deceit and falsehood the 
fact that the Athenians were really repairing their walls, 
which they had an undoubted right to do, but which ^gina 
beheld with fear and Sparta with jealousy. And this 
unreasonable meanness and injustice on the part of Sparta, 
again reacted on the Athenians, and created great bitterness 
and acrimony. 

But in spite of the opposition of Sj)arta, the new fortifica- 
The citynev- tious arosc, to which all citizens, rich and poor lent 

ertheless . i i • i i 

foi-tified. their aid, and on a scale which was not unworthy 
of the grandeur of a future capital. The circuit of the walls 
was fifty stadia or seven miles, and they were of sufiicient 
strength and height to protect the city against external ene- 
mies. And when they were completed Themistocles, a 
man of great foresight and genius, persuaded the citizens to 
fortify also their harbor, as a means of securing the ascen- 
dency of the city in future maritime conflicts. He foresaw 
that the political ascendency of Athens was based on those 
" wooden walls" which the Delphic oracle had declared to be 
her hope in the Persian invasion. The victory at Salamis 
had confirmed the wisdom of the prediction, and given to 
Athens an imperishable glory. Themistocles persuaded his 
countrymen that the open roadstead of Phalerum was in- 
secure, and induced them to inclose the more spacious har- 
bors of Piraeus and Munychia, by a wall as long 

Tlje Piraeus, . . 

as tliat which encircled Athens itself, — so thick 
and high that all assault should be hopeless, while within its 
fortifications the combined fleets of Greece could safely be 
anchored, and to which the citizens of Athens could also retire 
in extreme danger. Piraeus accordingly v,^as inclosed at vast 
expense and labor by a wall fourteen feet in thickness, which 



Chap. XIII] Confederacy of Delos. 151 

served not merely for a harbor, but a dock-yard and arsenal. 
Thither resorted raetics or resident foreigners, and much of 
the trade of Athens was in their hands, since they were less 
frequently employed in foreign service. They became ai 
thrifty population of traders and handy craftsmen identitied 
with the prosperity of Athens. These various works, absorbed 
much of the Athenian force and capital, yet enough remained 
to build annually twenty new triremes — equivalent increase of 
to our modern ships of the line. Athens now be- *'"^ "'^^^' 
came the acknowledged head and leader of the allied States, 
instead of Sparta, whose authority as a presiding State was 
now openly renunciated by the Athenians. The Pan- 
hellenic union under Sparta was now broken forever, 
and two rival States disputed the supremacy, — the mari- 
time States adhering to Athens, and the land States, 
which furnished the larger part of the army at Platsea, 
adhering to Sparta. It was then that the confed- confederacy 
eracy of Delos was formed, under the presidency of o^^eios. 
Athens, which Aristides directed. His assessment was so 
just and equitable that no jealousies were excited, and the 
four hundred and sixty talents which were collected from the 
maritime States were kept at Delos for the common benefit of 
the league, managed by a board of Athenian officers. It was 
a common fear which led to this great contribution, for the 
Phoenician fleet might at any time reappear, and, co-operating 
with a Persian land force, destroy the liberties of Greece. 
Although Athens reaped the chief benefit of this league, it 
was essentially national. It was afterward indeed turned 
to aggrandize Athens, but, when it was originally made, was 
a means of common defense against a power as yet uncon- 
quered though repulsed. 

During all the time that the fortifications of Athens and 
the Piraeus were being made, Themistocles was the ruling 
spirit at Athens, while Aristides commanded the fleet and 
organized the confederacy of Delos. It was thus confederacy 
several years before he became false to his country- ^^ ^^^^^' 
men, and the change was only gradually wrought in his 



1 52 The Age of Pericles. tchap. xni. 

character, owing chiefly to his extravagant habits and the ar- 
rogance which so often attends success. 

During this period, a change was also made in the civil 
Change in Constitution of Athens. All citizens were rendered 
nian consti- admissible to office. The State became still more 
tution. democratic. The archons were withdrawn from 

military duties, and confined to civil functions. The stategi 
or generals gained greater power with the extending politi- 
cal relations, and upon them was placed the duty of super- 
intending foreign affairs. Athens became more democrati- 
cal and more military at the same time. 

From this time, 479 b. c, we date the commencement of 
The political the Athenian empire. It gradually was cemented 
Athens.*^ by circumstanccs rather than a long-sighted and 
calculating ambition. At the head of the confederacy of 
Delos, opportunities were constantly presented of centraliz- 
ing power, while its rapid increase of population and wealth 
favored the schemes which political leaders advanced for its 
aggrandizement. The first ten years of the Athenian hegem- 
ony or headship were years of active warfare against the Per- 
sians. The capture of Eion, on the Strymon, with its Persian 
garrison, by Cimon, led to the settlement of Amphipolis by the 
Athenians; and the fall of the cities which the Persians had 
occupied in Thrace and in the various islands of the JEgean in- 
creased the power of Athens. 

The confederate States at last grew weary of personal mil- 
The confed- itary scrvicc, and prevailed upon the Athenians to 

erate States. -ii* i > ,-i • ^ r> ^ • -i 

provide ships and men in their place, for which 
they imposed upon themselves a suitable money-payment. 
They thus gradually sunk to the condition of tributary 
allies, unwarlike and averse to privation, while the Athe- 
nians, stimulated by new and expanding ambition, became 
more and more enterprising and powerful. 

But with the growth of Athens was also the increase of 
Unpopuiari- jealousics. Athcus became unpopular, not only 
ty of Athens, "because shc made the different maritime States 
her tributaries, but because she embarked in war against 



Chap. XIII.] Jeolousy of Sparta, 153 

them to secure a still greater aggrandizement. JSTaxos re- 
volted, but was conquered, b. c. 467. The confederate 
State was stripped of its navy, and its fortifications 
were razed to the ground. Next year the island of Thasos 
likewise seceded from the alliance, and was subdued with 
difficulty, and came near involving Athens in a war with 
Sparta. The Thasians invoked the aid of Sparta, which was 
promised though not fulfilled, which imbittered the relations 
between the two leading Grecian States. 

During this period, from the formation of the league at 
Delos, to the fall of Thasos, about thirteen years, Expeditions 

. . ... ,. . against Per- 

Athens was occupied m mamtammg expeditions eia. 
against Persia, being left free from embarrassments in Attica. 
The towns of Platsea and Thespise were restored and re- 
peopled under Athenian influence. 

The jealousy of Sparta, in view of the growing power of 
Athens, at last 2:ave vent in ajivingj aid to Thebes, 

' ° too > Sparta. 

against the old policy of the State, to enable that 
city to maintain supremacy over the lesser Boeotian towns. The 
Spartans even aided in enlarging her circuit and improving 
her fortifications, which aid made Thebes a vehement parti- 
san of Sparta. Soon after, a terrible earthquake happened 
in Sparta, 464 b. c, which calamity was seized upon by the 
Helots as a fitting occasion for revolt. Defeated, Rebellion of 
but not subdued, the insurgents retreated to *^®^®^^*^- 
Ithome, the ancient citadel of their Messenian ancestors, and 
there intrenched themselves. The Spartans spent two years 
in an unsuccessful siege, and were forced to appeal to their 
allies for assistance. But even the increased force made no 
impression on the fortified hill, so ignorant were the Greeks, 
at this period, of the art of attacking walls. And when the 
Athenians, under Cimon, still numbered among the allies of 
Sparta, were not more successful, their impatience degener- 
ated to mistrust and suspicion, and summarily dismissed the 
Athenian contingent. This ungracious and jealous treat- 
ment exasperated the Athenians, whose feelings were 
worked upon by Pericles who had opposed the policy of 



154 The Age of Pericles, [c„ap. xiii. 

sending troops at all to Laconia. Cimon here was antago- 
nistic to Pericles, and wished to cement the more complete 
Oimon op- union of Greece against Persia, and maintain the 
Pericles. union with Sparta. Cimon, moreover, disliked the 
democratic policy of Pericles. But the Athenians rallied 
imder Pericles, and Cimon lost his influence, which had been 
paramount since the disgrace of Themistocles. A formal 
resolution was passed at Athens to renounce the alliance 
with Sparta against the Persians, and to seek alliance with 
Argos, which had been neutral during the Persian inyasion, 
but which had regained something of its ancient prestige 
and power by the conquest of Mycenge and other small 
towns. The Thessalians became members of this new 
•alliance which was intended to be antagonistic to Sparta. 
Alliance of Mcgara, shortly after, renounced the protection 
statTs^with c>f the Peloponnesian capital, and was enrolled 
Athens. amoug the allies of Athens, — a great acquisition 
to Athenian power, since this city secured the passes of 
Mount Gerania, so that Attica was protected from invasion 
by the Isthmus of Corinth. But the alliance of Megara and 
Athens gave deep umbrage to Corinth as well as Sparta, 
and a war Avith Corinth was the result, in which JEgina was 
involved as the ally of Sparta and Corinth. 

The Athenians were at first defeated on the land; but this 
Defeat of defeat was more than overbalanced by a naval 

Athens on . i -r-w • f¥» i • i t j? 

the land and victory ovcr the Doriau seamen, on the island oi 

victory on. t-ii ip r«7r>- 

the sea. ^gina, by which the naval lorce oi j^gma, 

hitherto great, was forever prostrated. The Athenians cap- 
tured seventy ships and commenced the siege of the city 
itself Sparta would have come to the rescue, but was pre- 
occupied in suppressing the insurrection of the Helots. 
Corinth sent three hundred hoj^lites to JEgina and attacked 
Megara. But the Athenians prevailed both at JEgina and 
Megara, which was a great blow to Corinth. 

Fearing, however, a renewed attack from Corinth and the 
Pericles Pelopoimesiaii States, now full of rivalry and en- 
career, niity, the Athenians, under the leadership of 



Chap. XIII.] Hostilities 'between Sjparta and Athens. 155 

Pericles, resolved to connect their city with the harbor of 
Pirgeus, by a long wall — a stupendous undertaking at that 
time. It excited the greatest alarm among the enemies of 
Athens, and was a subject of contention among different 
parties in the city. The party which Cimon, now cimon 
ostracised, had headed, wished to cement the va- ^^^^iished. 
rious Grecian States in a grand alliance against the Persians, 
and dreaded to see this long wall arise as a standing menace 
against the united power of the Peloponnesus. Moreover, the 
aristocrats of Athens disliked a closer amalgamation with the 
maritime people of the Piraeus, as well as the burdens and 
taxes which this undertaking involved. These fortifications 
doubtless increased the power of Athens, but weakened the 
unity of Hellenic patriotism ; and increased those jealousies 
which ultimately proved the political ruin of Greece. 

Under the influence of these rivalries and jealousies the 
Lacedaemonians, although the Helots were not sub- Hostilities 
dued, undertook a hostile expedition out of the gp^rta^and 
Peloponnesus, with eleven thousand five hundred ^tiiens. 
men, ostensibly to protect Doris against the Phocians, but 
really to prevent the further aggrandizement of Athens, and 
this was supposed to be most easily efiected by strengthen- 
ing Thebes and securing the obedience of the Boeotian cities. 
But there was yet another design, to prevent the building 
of the long walls, to which the aristocratical party of Athens 
was opposed, but which Pericles, with, long-sighted views, 
defended. 

This extraordinary man, with whom the glory and great- 
ness of Athens are so intimately associated, now Ascendpncy 
had the ascendency over all his rivals. He is con- "^^ Pencies. 
sidered the ablest of all the statesmen which Greece pro- 
duced. He was of illustrious descent, and spent the early 
part of his life in retirement and study, and when he emerged 
from obscurity his rise was rapid, until he gained the control 
of his countrymen, which he retained until his death. He 
took the side of the democracy, and, in one sense, was a 
demagogue, as well as a statesman, since he appealed lo 



156 The Age of Pericles, [Chap. xiii. 

popular passions and interests. He was very eloquent, and 
was the idol of the party which was dominant in the State, 
His rank and fortune enabled him to avail himself of every 
His charac- Hiode of culture and self-improvement known in 
co'Ii^pHsh^-* ^is ^^^y* He loved music, philosophy, poetry, and 
ments. ^j.^_ rpj^^ great Auaxagoras gave a noble direc- 

tion to his studies, so that he became imbued with the sub- 
limest ideas of Grecian wisdom. And his eloquence is said to 
have been of the most lofty kind. His manners partook of 
the same exalted and dignified bearing as his philosophy. 
He never lost his temper, and maintained the severest self- 
control. His voice was sweet, and his figure was graceful 
and commanding. He early distinguished himself as a 
soldier, and so gained upon his countrymen that, when 
Themistocles and Aristides were dead, and Cimon eng^asjed 
in military expeditions, he supplanted all who had gone 
before him in popular favor. All his sympathies were with 
the democratic party, while his manners and habits and 
tastes and associations were those of the aristocracy. His 
political career lasted forty years from the year 469 b.-c. 
He was unremitting in his public duties, and was never seen 
in the streets unless on his way to the assembly or senate. 
He was not fond of convivial pleasures, and was, though 
afiable, reserved and dignified. He won the favor of the 
people by a series of measures which provided the poor with 
amusement and means of subsistence. He caused those who 
served in the courts to be paid for their attendance and ser- 
vices. He weakened the power of the court of the Areopa- 
gus, which was opposed to popular measures. Assured of 
his own popularity, he even contrived to secure the pardon 
of Cimon, his great rival, when publicly impeached. 

Pericles was thus the leading citizen of his country, when 
he advocated the junction of the Piraeus with Athens by the 
The union loug walls which havc been alluded to, and when 
usVith^*" t^6 Spartan army in Boeotia threatened to sustain 
Athens. ^jjg oligarchal party in the city. The Athenians, 

in view of this danger, took decisive measures. They took 



Chap, xiil] Cimon. 157 

the field at once against their old allies, the Lacedgemonians. 
The unfortunate battle of Tanagra was decided in favor of 
the Spartans, chiefly through the desertion of the Thessalian 
horse. 

Cimon, though ostracised, appeared in the field of battle, 
and requested permission to fight in the ranks. Magnanim- 
Though the request was refused, he used all his cimon. 
influence with his friends to fight with bravery and fidelity 
to his country's cause, which noble conduct allayed the exist- 
ing jealousies, and through the influence of Pericles, his ban- 
ishment of ten years was revoked. He returned to Athens, 
reconciled with the party which had defeated him, and so 
great was the admiration of his magnanimity that all parties 
generously united in the common cause. Another battle 
with the enemy was fought in Boeotia, this time attended 
with success, the result of which was the complete ascen- 
dency of the Athenians over all Boeotia. They became mas- 
ters of Thebes and all the neighboring towns, and reversed 
all the acts of the Spartans, and established democratic gov- 
ernments, and forced the aristocratical leaders into exile. 
Phocis and Locris were added to the list of dependent allies, 
and the victory cemented their power from the Corinthian 
Gulf to the strait of Thermopylae. 

Then followed the completion of the long walls, b. c. 455, 
and the conquest of ^orina. Athens was now completion 

^ o oi the long 

mistress of the sea, and her admiral displayed his waiis. 
strength by sailing round the Peloponnesus, and taking pos- 
session of many cities in the Gulf of Corinth. But the 
Athenians were unsuccessful in an expedition into Thessaly, 
and sustained many losses in Egypt in the great warfare 
with Persia. 

After the success of the Lacedgeraonians at Tanagra they 
made no expeditions out of the Peloponnesus for several 
years, and allowed Boeotia and Phocis to be absorbed in the 
Athenian empire. They even extended the truce with 
Athens for five years longer, and this was promoted by 
Cimon, who wished to resume ofiensive operations against 



158 The Age of PeAcles. [Chap, xiil 

the Persians. Cimon was allowed to equip a fleet of two 
Death of hundred triremes and set sail to Cyprus, where he 
Cimon. died. The expedition failed under his successor, 

and this closed all further aggressive war with the Pei'sians. 

The death of Cimon, whose interest it was to fight the 
Pericles Pcrsiaus, and thus by the spoils and honors of 

rivals. war keep up his influence at home, left Pericles 

without rivals, and with opportunities to develop his policy 
of internal improvements, and the development of national 
resources, to enable Athens to maintain her ascendency over 
the States of Greece. So he gladly concluded peace with 
the Persians, by the term^s of which they were excluded from 
the coasts of Asia. Minor and the islands of the ^gean; 
while Athens stipulated to make no further aggression on 
Cyprus, Phoenicia, Cilicia, and Egypt. 

Athens, at peace with all her enemies, with a large empire 
Asgrandize- of tributary allies, a great fleet, and large accu- 
Athens. mulations of treasure, sought now to make herself 
supreme in Greece. The fund of the confederacy of Delos 
was transferred to the Acropolis. New allies sought her 
alliance. It is said the tributary cities amounted to one 
thousand. She was not only mistress of the sea, but she was 
the equal of Sparta on the land. Beside this political power, 
a vast treasure was accumulated in the Acropolis. Such 
rapid aggrandizement was bitterly felt by Corinth, Sicyon, 
and Sparta, and the feeling of enmity expanded until it 
exploded in the Peloponnesian war. 

It was while Athens was at this height of jDOwer and 
renown that further changes were made in the constitution 
Change in hy Pcricles. Great authority was still in the hands 
t-onTy^Ped- of the court of the Areopagus, which was composed 
**'®^' exclusively of ex-archons, sitting for life, and 

hence of very aristocratic sentiments. It was indeed a judi- 
cial body, but its functions were mixed ; it decided all dis- 
putes, inquired into crimes, and inflicted punishments. And 
it was enabled to enforce its own mandates, which were 
without appeal, and led to great injustice and oppression. 



Chap. XIII.] The Bikasts, 159 

The magistrates, serving without jjay, were generally 
wealthy, and though their offices were eligible to all the citi- 
zens, still, practically, only the rich became magistrates, as 
is the case with the British House of Commons. Hence, 
magistrates possessing large powers, and the senate sitting 
for life, all belonging to the wealthy class, were animated by 
aristocratic sympathies. But a rapidly increasing democ- 
racy succeeded in securins: the selection of archons increase of 

IT • f ^ • mi • T democratic 

by lot, m place of election. This threw more pop- power. 
ular elements into the court of Areopagus. The innovations 
which Pericles effected, of causing the jury courts, or Dikas- 
teries, to be regularly paid, again threw into public life the 
poorer citizens. But the great change which he effected was 
in transferring to the numerous dikasts, selected from the 
citizens, a new judicial power, heretofore exercised by the 
mao'istrates, and the senate of the Areopasjus. 

^, =• . . -, P -, . -, . -^ "^ , The dikasts. 

The magistrate, instead oi deciding causes ana 
inflicting punishment beyond the imposition of a small fine, 
was constrained to impanel a jury to try the cause. In fact, 
the ten dikasts became the leading judicial tribunals, and as 
these were composed, each, of five hundred citizens, judg- 
ments were virtually made by the people, instead of the old 
court. The pay of each man serving as a juror was deter- 
mined and punctually paid. The importance of this revolu- 
tion will be seen when these dikasts thus became the exclusive 
assemblies, of course popular, in which all cases, civil and 
criminal, were tried. The magistrates were thus deprived 
of the judicial functions which they once enjoyed, and were 
confined to purely administrative matters. The commanding 
functions of the archon were destroyed, and he only retained 
power to hear complaints, and fix the day of trial, and pre- 
side over the dikastic assembly. The senate of the Areopa- 
gus, which had exercised an inquisitorial power over the 
lives and habits of the citizens, and supervised the meetings 
of the assembly — a power uncertain but immense, and sus- 
tained by ancient customs, — now became a mere nominal tri- 
bunah And this change was called for, since the members 



160 The Age of Pericles. [Chap, xiil 

of the court were open to bribery and corruption, and had 
abused their powers, little short of paternal despotism. And 
Ascendency when the great public improvements, the growth 
cratic power, of a new population, the rising importance of the 
Piraeus, the introduction of nautical people, and the active 
duties of Athens as the head of the Delian confederacy — all, 
together, gave force to the democratic elements of society, 
the old and conservative court became stricter, and more 
oppressive, instead of more popular and conciliatory. 

But beside this great change in the constitution, Pericles 
other poiiti- effected others also. Under his influence, a gene- 
effecVrSy** ^al powcr of Supervision, over the magistrates and 
Pericles. ^j^^ assembly, was intrusted to seven men called 
Nomophylakes, or Law Guardians, changed every year, who 
sat with the president in the senate and assembly, and inter- 
posed when any step was taken contrary to existing laws. 
Other changes were also effected with a view to the enforce- 
ment of laws, upon which we can not enter. It is enough to 
say that it was by means of Pericles that the magistrates 
were stripped of judicial power, and the Areopagus of all its 
jurisdiction, except in cases of homicide, and numerous and 
paid and popular dikasts were substituted to decide judicial 
cases, and repeal and enact laws ; this, says Grote, was the 
consummation of the Athenian democracy. And thus it 
remained until the time of Demosthenes. 

But the influence of Pericles is still more memorable from 
Improve- the impulsc he gave to the improvements of Athens 
Athens. and his patronage of art and letters. He con- 
ceived the idea of investing his city with intellectual glory, 
which is more permanent than any conquests of territory 
And since he could not make Athens the centre of political 
power, owing to the jealousies of other States, he resolved 
to make her the great attraction to all scholars, artists, and 
strangers. And his countrymen were prepared to second 
his glorious objects, and were in a condition to do so, en- 
riched by commerce, rendered independent by successes over 
the Persians, and jealous Grecian rivals, and stimulated by 



Chap. XIII.] Public Buildings of Athens, 161 

the poets and philosophers who flourished in that glorious 
age. The age of Pericles is justly regarded as the epoch of 
tlie highest creation genius ever exhibited, and gave to 
Athens an intellectual supremacy which no military genius 
could have secured. 

The Persian war despoiled and depopulated Athens. The 
city was rebuilt on a more extensive plan, and the streets 
were made more regular. The long walls to the Piraeus 
were completed — a double wall, as it were, with a space 
between them large enough to secure the communication 
between the city and the port, in case an enemy should gain 
a footing in the wide space between the Pirsean and Thalerio 
walls. The port itself was ornamented with beautiful public 
buildings, of which the Agora was the most con- ,p^g -^xxhwa 
siderable. The theatre, called the Odeon, was t>'iii'ii°g8. 
erected in Athens for musical and poetical contests. The 
Acropolis, with its temples, was rebuilt, and the splendid 
Propylsea, of Doric architecture, formed a magnificent ap- 
proach to them. The temple of Athena — the famous Par- 
thenon — was built of white marble, and adorned with sculp- 
tures in the pediments and frieze by the greatest artists of 
antiquity, while Phidias constructed the statue of the god- 
dess of ivory and gold. ISTo Doric temple ever equaled the 
severe proportions and chaste beauty of the Parthenon, and 
its ruins still are one of the wonders of the world. The 
Odeon and Parthenon were finished during the first seven 
years of the administration of Pericles, and many other 
temples were constructed in various parts of Attica. The 
genius of Phidias is seen in the numerous sculptures which 
ornamented the city, and the general impulse he gave to art. 
Other great artists labored in generous competition, — sculp- 
tors, painters, and architects, — to make Athens the most 
beautiful city in the world. 

" It was under the administration of Pericles that Greek 
literature reached its culminating height in the Attic drama, 
a form of poetrv which Aristotle iustly considers impulse 

. , • , T . . , T given to 

as the most perfect ; and it shone with undiminished literature. 
11 



162 The Age of Pericles. [Chap. xiii. 

spleDdor to the close of the century. It was this branch of 
literature which peculiarly marked the age of Pericles — the 
period between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars. The 
first regular comedies were produced by Epicharmus, who 
was born in Cos, b. c. 540, and exhibited at Syracuse. 
Comedy arose before tragedy, and was at first at the celebra- 
tion of Dionysus by rustic revelers in the season of the 
vintage, in the form of songs and dances. But these were 
not so appropriate in cities, and the songs of the revelers 
were gradually molded into the regular choral dithyramb, 
while the performers still preserved, the wdld dress and ges- 
tures of the satyi's — half goat and half man — who accom- 
panied Dionysus." The prevalence of tales of crime and 
fate and suffering naturally impressed spectatoi's with tragic 
sentiments, and trao-edy was thus born and sepa- 

The drama. ' o ^ i 

rated from comedy. Both forms received their 
earliest development in the Dorian States, and were particu- 
larly cultivated by the Megarians. " Thespis, a native of 
Icaria, first gave to tragedy its dramatic character, in the 
time of Pisistratus, b. c. 535. He nitroduced the dialogue, 
relieved by choral performances, and the recitation of mytho- 
logical and heroic adventures. He traveled about Attica in 
a wagon, which served him for a stage; but the art soon 
found, its way to Athens, where dramatic contests for prizes 
were established in connection with the festivals of Dionysus. 
These became State institutions. Chcerilus, b. c. 523, and 
Phrynichus followed Thespis, and these ventured from the 
regions of mythology to contemporaneous history." 

It was at this time that JEschylus, the father of tragedy, 
exhibited his dramas at Athens, b. c. 500. He added a sec- 
ond actor, and made the choral odes subordinate 

uEscliylus. . 

to the action. The actors now made use of masks, 
and wore lofty head-dresses and magnificent robes. Scenes 
were painted according to the rules of perspective, and an 
elaborate mechanism was introduced upon the stage. ISTew 
figures were invented for the dancers of the cho- 
rus. Sophocles still further improved tragedy by 



Chap. XIII.] The Grecian Drama. 163 

adding the third actor, and snatched from ^schjlus the 
tragic prize. He was not equal to JEschylus in the bold- 
ness and originality of his characters, or the loftiness of his 
sentiments, or the colossal grandeur of his figures ; but in 
the harmony of his composition, and the grace and vigor 
displayed in all the parts — the severe unity, the classic ele- 
gance of his style, and the charm of his expressions he is his 
superior. These two men carried tragedy to a degree of 
perfection never afterward attained in Greece. It was not 
merely a spectacle to the people, but was applied to moral 
and religious purposes. The heroes of ^schylus are raised 
above the sphere of real life, and often they are the sport 
of destiny, or victims of a struggle between superior beings. 
The characters of Sophocles are rarely removed beyond the 
sphere of mortal sympathy, and they are made to rebuke 
injustice and give impressive warnings. 

Comedy also made a great stride during the administration 
of Pericles ; but it was not till his great ascendency 
was at its height that Aristophanes was born, 
B. c. 444. The comedians of the time were allowed great 
license, which they carried even into politics, and which was 
directed against Pericles himself 

The Athenian stage at this epoch was the chief means by 
which national life and liberty were sustained. It power of the 
answered the functions of the press and the pulpit ^*^'^»*^- 
in our day, and quickened the perceptions of the people. 
The great audiences which assembled at the theatres were 
kindled into patriotic glow, and were moved by the noble 
thoughts, and withering sarcasm, and inexhaustible wit of 
the poets. " The gods and goddesses who swept majestically 
over the tragic stage were the objects of religious and na- 
tional faith, real beings, whose actions and sufferings claimed 
their deepest sympathy, and whose heroic fortitude served 
for an example, or their terrific fate for a warning. So, too, 
in the old comedy, the persons, habits, manners, principles held 
up to ridicule were all familiar to the audience in their daily 
lives ; and the poet might exhibit in a humorous light ob- 



164 The Age of Pericles. [Chap. xiii. 

jects which to attack seriously would have been a treason 
or a sacrilege, and might recommend measures which he 
could only have proposed iu the popular assembly with a 
halter round his neck." This susceptibility of the people to 
grand impressions, and the toleration of rulers, alike show a 
great degree of popular intelligence and a great practical 
liberty in social life. 

The age of Pericles was also adorned by great historians 
The histo- and philosophers. Herodotus and Thucydides have 

riansand , . . i -i .i 

philosophers, ncver been surpassed as historians, while the 
Sophists who succeeded the more earnest philosophers of a 
previous age, gave to Athenian youth a severe intellectual 
training. Rhetoric, mathematics, and natural history sup- 
planted speculation, led to the practice of eloquence as an 
art, and gave to society j^olish and culture. The Sophists 
can not indeed be compared with those great men who pre- 
ceded or succeeded them in philosophical wisdom, but their 
influence in educating the Grecian mind, and creating polished 
men of society, can not be disproved. Politics became a pro- 
fession in the democratic State, which demanded the highest 
culture, and an extensive acquaintance with the principles of 
moral and political science. This was the age of lectures, 
when students voluntarily assembled to learn from the great 
masters of thought that knowledge which would enable them 
to rise in a State where the common mind was well 
instructed. 

But it must also be admitted that while the age of Pericles 
furnished an extraordinary stimulus to the people, in art, in 
literature, in political science, and in popular institutions, the 
great teachers of the day inculcated a selfish morality, and 
sought an aesthetic enjoyment irrespective of high moral im- 
provement, and the inevitable result was the rapid degeneracy 
of Athens, and the decline even in political influence, and 
Athens de- Strength, as was seen in the superior power of Sparta 

clines in mo- . t ♦ t i t t oi 

rai power. m the great contest to which the two leading btates 
of Greece were hurried by their jealousies and animosities. 
The prosperity was delusive and outside ; for no intellectual 



Chap. XIII.] Asjpasia, 165 

triumph, no glories of art, no fascinations of literature, can 
balance the moral forces which are generated in self-denial 
and lofty public virtue. 

It was while the power and glory of Pericles were at their 
heisfht that he formed that memorable attachment 

, , , Aspasia. 

to Aspasia, a Milesian woman, which furnished a 
fruitful subject for the attacks of the comic poets. She 
was the most brilliant and intellectual woman of the age, and 
her house Avas the resort of the literary men and philoso- 
phers and artists of Athens until the death of Pericles. He 
formed as close a union with her as the law allowed, and her 
influence in creating a sympathy with intellectual excellence 
can not be questioned. But she was charged with pandering to 
the vices of Pericles, and corrupting society by her example 
and influence. 

The latter years of Pericles were marked by the outbreak of 
that great war with Sparta, which crippled the pow- Latter days 
er of Athens and tarnished her glories. He also was 
afflicted by the death of his children by the plague which 
devastated Athens in the early part of the Peloponnesian 
war, to which attention is now directed. The probity of 
Pericles is attested by the fact that during his long poucy of 
administration he added nothing to his patrimonial ^®""^®^* 
estate. His policy was ambitious, and if it could have been 
carried out, it would have been wise. He sought first to 
develop the resources of his country — the true aim of all en- 
lightened statesmen — and then to make Athens the centre of 
Grecian civilization and political power, to which all other 
States would be secondary and subservient. But the rival- 
ries of the Grecian States and inextinguishable jealousies 
would not allow this. He made Athens, indeed, the centre 
of cultivated life ; he could not make it the centre of national 
unity. With his glorious age are associated some of the proud- 
est names of antiquity. No one of these was greater than Soc- 
rates, who revolutionized philosophy. His system, so far as he 
made a system, was the sequence of those wonderful develop- 
ments of thought which made the Ionian philosophers so famous, 
the first of whom was Thales. 



166 The Age of Pericles, [Chap. xiii. 

Socrates taught his sublime morality when the Sophists were 
the ruling powers in the empire of mind, — a class of rhetori- 
cians who professed to know everything, fashionable teachers 
who were supported by the rich, — and as arrogant as they were 
conceited. 

Socrates spent his life in exposing ignorance, which he deemed 
necessary before truly great attainments could be made. He 
was satirical, provoking, witty. He gave lectures; he con- 
versed, and conversed with everybody he saw ; and such was 
the charm of his eloquence, that he was surrounded by the 
brightest people of the city, who admired his wisdom, even when 
he exposed their follies. 

He was the son of a poor sculptor, and was rescued from his 
father's shop by a wealthy citizen, who perceived his genius. 
He was an ugly-looking man, awkward and obese, resembling a 
Silenus. He walked barefooted, was poorly clad, and despised 
wealth and popularity. He made no claim to superior wisdom, 
even while he proved the ignorance of other people. He wove 
a web around his disputants, from which they could not extri- 
cate themselves. Calm and serious himself, he made others 
angry by making them ridiculous, and he made them ridiculous 
by showing that the ultimate sequence of their opinions was an 
absurdity, so that he became both unpopular and exasperating, 
even when universally admired. Yet he did not question people 
to irritate them, or gratify his own vanity, but to bring out 
truth from the systems he demolished. Nor was it merely to 
expose ignorance and gain applause by the ingenuity of his ques- 
tions which he aimed at ; but to produce a state of mind favor- 
able to future progress. To the skepticism of the Sophists he 
opposed self-evident truths. Hence he proclaimed the immu- 
tability of justice, and the sovereignty of virtue, and the uni- 
versality of moral obligation. " Moral certitude was the lofty 
platform from which he surveyed the universe." It was an ex- 
alted realism to which he aspired. In the august dignity of the 
soul, he was comparatively indifferent to the wants of the body. 
Hence Socrates appears as a moral teacher. The great aim 
of his teachings was to fit a man for the duties of life. He 
was also the first who caught glimpses of the true end of phi- 



Chap xiil] Socvates. 167 

losophy — to sit in judgment on all knowledge, whether it per- 
tained to politics, or poetry, or art, or history, eliminating what 
is false and retaining what is true. But the sum and substance 
of his teachings were to show that knowledge is one thing, and 
the assumption of knowledge is another. 

Such an original and lofty character made a great impression 
on his city and his epicurean age. If he had admirers and 
friends, he also had bitter enemies — worldly people in powder, 
who hated his doctrines, which exposed their shallowness, hy- 
pocrisy, and wickedness. And the result of this hostility was 
his trial and condemnation, on charges he disdained to answer. 
He secretly longed for death, since he felt that his work was 
done, and that his mission was delivered. He reposed in the 
lofty dignity of a man conscious of having made important 
revelations, and that his death would stimulate fresh inquiries. 



CHAPTEE XIV. 

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAE. 

The great and disastrous war between the two leading 
Causes of States of Greece broke out about two years and a 
the war. jj^jf before the death of Pericles, but the causes of 
the war can be traced to a period shortly after the Persians 
were driven out of the Ionian cities. It arose primarily from 
the rapid growth and power of Athens, when, as the leader 
of the maritime States, it excited the envy of Sparta and other 
republics. A thirty years' truce was made between Athens 
and Sparta, b. c. 445, after the revolution in Boeotia, when 
the ascendency of Pericles was undisputed, which forced his 
rival, Thucydides, a kinsman of Cimon, to go into temporary 
exile. The continuance of the truce is identical with the 
palmy days of Athens, and the glory of Pericles, during 
which the vast improvements of the city were made, and art 
and literature flourished to a degree unprecedented in the 
history of the ancient world. 

After the conquest of Samos the jealousy of Sparta reached 
a point which made it obvious that the truce could not much 
longer be maintained, though both powers shrunk from open 
hostilities, foreseeing the calamities which would result. 
The storm burst out in an unexpected quarter. The city of 
Epidamnus had been founded by colonists from Corcyra, on the 
eastern side of the Adriatic. It was, however, the prey of 
domestic factions, and in a domestic revolution a part of the 
inhabitants became exiles. These appealed to the neighbor- 
ing barbarians, who invested the city by sea and land. The 
city, in distress, invoked the aid of Corcyra, the parent State, 
which aid being disregarded, the city transferred its alle- 
giance to Corinth. The Corinthians, indulging a hatred of 



Chap. XIV.] Corcyra and Corinth. 169 

Corcyra, took the distressed city under their protection. 
This led to a war between Corcyra and Corinth, in which 
the Corinthians were defeated. But Corinth, burning to re- 
venge the disaster, fitted out a still larger force against Cor- 
cyra. The Corcyroeans, in alarm, then sent envoys ^^,^^ ^^ 
to Athens to come to their assistance. The Corin- *"'^^![„5*^^' 
thians also sent embassadors to frustrate their pro- Ooriuth. 
posal. Two assemblies were held in Athens in reference to 
the subject. The delegates of Corcyra argued that peace 
could not Ions: be maintained with Sparta, and that Both parties 

^ ^ appealed to 

in the coming contest the Corcyrseans would prove Athens. 
useful allies. The envoys of Corinth, on the other hand, 
maintained that Athens could not lend aid to Corcyra without 
violatinsj the treaty with Corinth. The Athenians Athens de- 

, . -, , 'A T 1 • cidt-s in favor 

decided to assist Corcyra, and ten ships were sent, of corcyra, 
under the command of Lacedsemonicus, the son of Cimon. 
This was considered a breach of faith by the Corinthians, and a 
war resulted between Corinth and Athens. The Corinthians 
then invited the Lacedsemonians to join them and make com- 
mon cause against an aggressive and powerful enemy, that 
aimed at the supremacy of Greece. In spite of the influence 
of Athenian envoys in Sparta, who attempted to justify the 
course their countrymen had taken, the feeling against 
Athens was bitter and universally hostile. Instant hostilities 
were demanded in defense of the allies of Sparta, and war 
was decided upon. 

Thus commenced the Peloponnesian war, which led to such 
disastrous consequences, and which was thus brought about 
by the Corinthians, b. c. 433, sixteen years before the con- 
clusion of tlie truce. 

To Athens the coming war was any thing but agreeable^ 
It had no hopes of gain, and the certainty of prodigious loss. 
But the Spartans were not then prepared for the contest, 
and hostilities did not immediately commence. They con- 
tented themselves, at first, with sending envoys to Athens 
to multiply demands and enlarge the grounds of quarrel. 
The oftensive was plainly with Sparta. The first requisition 



170 The Peloponnesiaii War, [Chap. xiv. 

which Sparta made was the expulsion of the AlcmseoiiidsB 
Intrigues of from Athens, to which family Pericles belonged 

Sparta. , . . , , .'-in 

— a mere political manoeuvre to get rid oi so 
commanding a statesman. The enemies of Pericles, espe- 
cially the comic actors at Athens, seized this occasion to 
make public attacks upon him, and it was then that the per- 
secution of Aspasia took place, as well as that against 
Anaxagoras, the philosopher, the teacher, and friend of Peri- 
cles. He was also accused of peculation in complicity with 
Phidias. But he was acquitted of the various charges made 
by his enemies. Nor could his services be well dispensed 
with in the great crisis of public affairs, even had he been 
guilty, as was exceedingly doubtful. 

The reluctance on the part of the Athenians to go to war 
Pericles was vci'v Q'l'eat, but Pericles strenuously uro^ed 

urges the , . J & ' j » 

Athenians to his couutrymeu to rcseut the outrageous demands 
war. ' of Sparta, which were nothing less than the vir- 
tual extinction of the Athenian empire. He showed that 
the Spartans, though all-powerful on the Peloponnesus, had 
no means of carrying on an aggressive war at a distance, 
neither leaders nor money, nor habits of concert with allies ; 
while Athens was mistress of the sea, and was impregnable 
in defense ; that great calamities would indeed happen in 
Attica, but even if overrun by Spartan armies, there were 
other territories and islands from which a support could be 
derived. " Mourn not for the loss of land," said the orator, 
" but reserve your mourning for the men that acquire land." 
His eloquence and patriotism prevailed with a majority of 
the assembly, and answer was made to Sparta that the 
Athenians were prepared to discuss all grounds of complaint 
pursuant to the truce, by arbitration, but that they would 
yield nothing to authoritative command. This closed the ne- 
gotiations, which Pericles foresaw would be vain and useless, 
since the Spartans were obstinately bent on war. The first 
Imperious blow was sti'uck bv the Thebans — allies of Sparta. 

demands of . . 

Sparta. They surprised Platsea m the night. The gates 

were opened by the oligarchal party ; a party of Thebans 



Chap. XIV.] Wealth of Athens. 171 

were admitted into the agora ; but the people rallied, and 
the party was overwhelmed. Meanwhile another detachment 
of Thebans arrived in the morning, and, discovering what had 
happened, they laid waste the Platsean territory without the 
walls. The Platseans retaliated by slaughtering their prisoners. 
Messengers left the city, on the entrance of the Thebans, to 
carry the news to Athens, and the Athenians preparations 
issued orders to seize all the Boeotians who could be ^^^' ^^''* 
found in Attica, and sent re-enforcements to Platsea. This 
aggression of the Thebans silenced the opponents of Peri- 
cles, who now saw that the war had actually begun, and that 
active iDreparations should be made. Athens immediately 
sent messengers to her allies, tributary as well as free, and 
contributions flowed in from all parts of the Athenian empire. 
Athens had soon three hundred triremes fit for service, 
twelve hundred horsemen, sixteen hundred bowmen, and 
twenty-nine thousand hoplites. The Acropolis was filled 
with the treasure which had long been accumulating, not 
less than six thousand talents — about $7,000,000 wealth of 
of our money — an immense sum at that time, ' ' -^ 
when gold and silver were worth twenty or thirty 
times as much as at present. Moreover, the various temples 
were rich in votive offerings, in deposits, plate, and sacred 
vessels, while the great statue of the goddess, lately set up 
in the Parthenon by Phidias, composed of gold and ivory^ 
was itself valued at four hundred talents. The contributions 
of allies swelled the resources of Athens to one thousand 
talents, or over $11,000,000. 

Sparta, on the other hand, had but few ships, no funds, an.d 
no powers of combination, and it would seem that success 
would be on the side of Athens, with her unrivaled mari- 
time skill, and the unanimity of the citizens. Pericles did not 
promise successful engagements on the land, but a successful 
resistance, and the maintenance of the empire. His policy 
was purely defensive. But if Sparta was weak in money 
and sliips, she was rich in allies. The entire strength of the 
Peloponnesus was brought out, assisted by Megarians, Boeo- 



172 The Peloponnesian War. [Chap. xiv. 

tians, Phocians, Locrians, and other States. Corinth, Megara, 
Immense ar- Sicyon, Elis, and other maritime cities furnished 
al^/jJs/''^^®® ships, while Boeotians, Phocians, and Locrians 
Athens. furnished cavalry. ISTot even to resist the Persian 
hosts was so laro-e a land force collected, as was now assem- 
bled to destroy the supremacy of Athens. And this great 
force was animated with savage hopes, while the Athenians 
were not without desponding anticipations, for there was 
little hope of resisting the Spartans and their allies on the 
field. The Spartans, moreover, resolved, by means of their 
allies, to send a fleet able to cope with that of Athens, and 
even were so transported with enmity and jealousy as to lay 
schemes for invoking the aid of Persia. 

The invasion of Attica was the primary object of Sparta 
invasion of ^^d her allies; and at the appointed time the 
Attica. Lacedaemonian forces were mustered on the Isth- 

mus of Corinth, under the command of Archidamus. Envoys 
were sent to Athens to summon a surrender, but Pericles 
would not receive them, nor allow them to enter the city, 
upon which the Lacedaemonian army commenced its march 
to Attica. It required all the eloquence and tact of Pericles 
to induce the proprietors of Attica to submit to the devasta- 
Defensive tion of their cultivated territory, and fly with 

policy of ... J T J 

Pericles. their families and movable property to Athens 

or the neighboring islands, without making an effort to resist 
the invaders. But this was the policy of Pericles. He knew 
he could not contend with superior forces on the land. It 
was hard for the people to submit to the cruel necessity of 
seeing their farms devastated without opposition. But they 
made the sacrifice, and intrenched themselves behind the 
fortifications of Athens. Then was seen the wisdom of the 
long walls which connected Athens with the Piraeus. 

Meanwhile the Spartan forces — sixty thousand hoplites, 
advanced through Attica, burning and plundering every 
thing on their way, and reached Acharnae, within seven 
miles of Athens. The Athenians, pent up behind their walls, 
and seeing the destruction of their property, were eager to 



Chap. XIV.] Megava Devastated, 173 

go forth and fight, but were dissuaded by Pericles. Then 
came to him the trying hour. He was denounced as the 
cause of the existing sufferings, and was reviled as a coward. 
But nothing disturbed his equanimity, and he refused even 
to convene the assembly. As one of the ten generals he 
had this power^ but it was a remarkable thing' that the peo- 
ple should have respected the democratic constitution so far 
as to submit, when their assembly would have been justified 
by the exigency of the crisis. But while the Athenians 
remained inactive behind their walls, the cavalry was sent out 
on skirmishing expeditions, and a large fleet was sent to the 
Peloponnesus with orders to devastate the country in retali- 
ation. The Spartans, after having spent thirty or forty days 
in Attica, retired for want of provisions, ^ffina Retreat of 

/ , . ° the Lacedae- 

was also invaded, and the inhabitants were expelled mouians. 
and sent to the Peloponnesus. Megara was soon after invaded 
by an army under Pericles himself, and its territory was 
devastated — a retribution well deserved, for both Megara 
and JEgina had been zealous in kindling the war. 

Expecting a prolonged struggle, the Athenians now made 
arrange ment3 for puttings Attica in permanent ^^^/^^^^^^ 

^ I o 1 aside 1,000 

defense, both by sea and land, and set ayjart one talents lor 

' *' ' ^ future con- 

thousand talents, out of the treasure of the Acrop- tiugencies. 

olis, which was not to be used except in certain dangers pre- 
viously prescribed, and a law was passed making it a capital 
offense for any citizen to propose its use for any other purpose. 
The first year of the war closed without decisive successes 
on either side. The Athenians made a more Eesnits of 
powerful resistance than was anticipated. It was y.'ar^of the 
supposed they could not hold out against the ^^■^^■• 
superior forces of their enemies more than a year. They had 
the misfortune to see their territory wasted, and their treasures 
spent in a war which they would gladly have avoided. But, 
on the other hand, they inflicted nearly equal damages upon 
the Peloponnesus, and still remained masters of the sea, 
Pericles pronounced a funeral oration on those who had fallen 
and stimulated his countrymen to continued resistance, and 



174 The Pelo^onnesian War, [Chap. xiv. 

excited their patriotic sentiments. Thus far the anticipa- 
tions of the statesman and orator had been more than real- 
ized. 

The second year of the war opened with another invasion 

of Attica by the Spartans and their allies. They 

tans again inflicted cvcn morc injury than in, the preceding 

tica. year, but they found the territory deserted, all the 

population having retired within the defenses of Athens. 

But a new and unforeseen calamity now fell upon the Athe- 
nians, and against which they could not guard. A great 
The piacrue pestilcncc brokc out in the city, which had already 
at Athens, ovcrrun Wcstcm Asiat Its progress was rapid 
and destructive, and the overcrowded city was but too favor- 
able for its ravages. Thucydides has left a graphic and 
mournful account of this pestilence, analogous to the plague 
of modern times. The victims generally perished on the 
seventh or ninth day, and no treatment was efficacious. 
The sufferings and miseries of the people were intense, and 
the calamity by many was regarded as resulting from the 
anger of the gods. The pestilence demoralized the popula- 
tion, who lost courage and fortitude. The sick were left to. 
take care of themselves. The utmost lawlessness prevailed. 
The bonds of law and morality were relaxed, and the 
thoughtless people abandoned themselves to every species of 
folly and excess, seeking, in their despair, to seize some 
brief moments of joy before the hand of destiny should fall 
upon them. For three years did this calamity desolate 
Athens, and the loss of life was deplorable, both in the army 
and among private citizens. Pericles lost both his children 
and his sister; four thousand four hundred hoplites died, and 
a greater part of the horsemen. 

And yet, amid the devastation which the pestilence in- 
flicted, Pericles led another expedition against the coasts of 
Naval ex e- ^^® Peloponnesus. But the soldiers carried infec- 
dition tion with them, and a e^reater part of them died 

against 7 o a 

Sparta. of the discasc at the siege or blockade of Potida3a. 

The Athenians were nearly distracted by the double ravages 



Chap. XIV.] Capture of Potidcea. 1T5 

of pestilence and war, and became incensed against Pericles, 
and sent messengers to Sparta to negotiate peace. But the 
Spartans turned a deaf ear, which added to the bitterness 
against their heroic leader, whose fortitude and firmness 
were never more effectively manifested. He was accused, 
and condemned to pay a fine, and excluded from re-election. 
Though he was restored to power and confidence, his afflic- 
tion bore heavily upon his exalted nature, and he died, b. c. 
430, in the early period of the war. He had, in- j^^^^^ ^^ 
deed, many enemies, and was hunted down by the Pericles, 
comic writers, whose trade it was to deride all political 
characters, yet his wisdom, patriotism, eloquence, and 
great services are indisputable, and he died, leaving on 
the whole, the greatest name which had ever ennobled the 
Athenians. 

The war, of course, languished during the prevalence of 
the epidemic, and much injury was done to Athenian com- 
merce by Peloponnesian privateers, who put to death all 
their prisoners. It was then that Sparta sent en- spartam- 
voys to Persia to solicit money and troops against afj^of Se 
Athens, which shows that no warfare is so bitter ^^''sians. 
as civil strife, and that no expedients are too disgraceful not 
to be made use of, in order to gratify malignant passions. 
But the envoys were seized in Thrace by the allies of Athens, 
and delivered up to the Athenians, and by them were put to 
death. 

In January, b. c. 429, Potidgea surrendered to the Athe- 
nian generals, upon favorable terms, after enduring all the 
miseries of famine. The fall of this city cost Jesuits of 
Athens two thousand talents. The Lacedaemonians, y'JarTnhe 
after two years, had accomplished nothing. They '*^^'** 
had not even relieved Potidsea. 

On the third year, the Lacedaemonians, instead of ravaging 
Attica, marched to the attack of Platsea. The inhabitants 
resolved to withstand the whole force of the ene- g.^^g ^^ 
mies. Archidamus, the Lacedaemonian general, com- I'latsea. 
menced the siege, defended only by four hundred native citi- 



176 The Pelojponnesian War, TChap. xiv. 

zens and eighty Athenians. So unskilled were the Greeks in 
the attack of fortified cities, that the besiegers made no pro- 
gress, and were obliged to resort to blockade. A wall of cir- 
cumvallation was built around the city, which was now left 
to the operations of famine. 

At the same time the siege was pressed, an Athenian 
armament was sent to Thrace, which was defeated ; but in 
the western pnrt of Greece the Athenian arms were more 
successful. The Spartans and their allies suffered a repulse 
Naval defeat at Stratus, and their fleet was defeated by Phormio, 
Spartans. the Athenian admiral. Nothing could exceed the 
rage of the Lacedaemonians at these two disasters. They 
collected a still larger fleet, and were again defeated with 
severe loss near Naupactus, by inferior forces. But the de- 
feated Lacedaemonians, under the persuasion of the Mega- 
rians, undertook the bold enterprise of surprising the Piraeus, 
during the absence of the Athenian fleet; but the courage 
of the assailants failed at the critical hour, and the port of 
Athens was saved. The Athenians then had the precaution 
to extend a chain across the mouth of the harbor, to guard 
against such surprises in the future. 

Athens, during the summer, had secured the alliance of 
the Odrysians, a barbarous but powerful nation in Thrace. 
EesuUs of Their kino^ Sitalces, with an army of fifteen thou- 

the third ^ "' 1 T v. -,. 11. P Tir 

campaign. sand men, attacked Perdiccas, the kmg or Mace- 
donia, and overran his country, and only retired from the 
severity of the season and the want of Athenian co-operation. 
Such were the chief enterprises and events of the third cam- 
paign, and Athens was still powerful and unhumbled. 

The fourth year of the war Avas marked by a renewed 
Eenewed in- invasion of Attica, without any other results than 

vasionofAt- tt-i tt^ t->' 

tica. sucli as had happened beiore. J3ut it was a more 

serious calamity to the Athenians to learn that Mitylene and 
the m.ost of Lesbos had revolted — one of the most powerful 
of the Athenian allies. ]Nrothing was left to Athens but to 
subjugate the city. A large force was sent for this purpose, 
but the inhabitants of -Mitylene appealed to the Spartans for 



Chap, xiv.] Surrender of Platoea. 177 

aid, and prepared for a vigorous resistance. But the treas- 
ures of Athens were now nearly consumed, and the Atheni- 
ans were oblis^ed to resort to contributions to force the sie2:e, 
which they did with vigor. The Lacedaemonians promised 
succor, and the Mitylenseans held out till their provisions 
were exhausted, when they surrendered to the Revolt and 

. . . subjnsation 

Athenians, ihe Lacedaemonians advanced to re- ofMityiene. 
lieve their allies, but were too late. The Athenian admiral 
pursued them, and they returned to the Peloponnesus with- 
out having done any thing. Paches, the Athenian general, 
sent home one thousand Mitylenaean prisoners, while it was 
decreed to slaughter the whole remaining population — about 
six thousand — able to carry arms, and make slaves of the 
women and children. This severe measure was prompted 
by Cleon. But the Athenians repented, and a second decree 
of the assembly, through the influence of Diodotus, prevented 
the barbarous revenge ; but the Athenians put to death the 
prisoners which Paches had sent, razed the fortifications 
of Mitylene, took possession of all her ships of war, and 
confiscated all the land of the island except that which 
belonged to one town that had been faithful. So severe was 
ancient warfare, even among the most civilized of the Greeks. 

The surrender of Plataea to the Lacedaemonians took placQ. 
not long after; but not until one-half of the gar- surrender of 
rison had sallied from the city, scaled the wall of ^^'■^^^^: 
circumvallation, and escaped safely to Athens. The Plataeans 
were sentenced to death by the Spartan judges, and barbar- 
ously slain. The captured women were sold as slaves, and 
the town and territory were handed over to the Thebans. 

Scenes not less bloody took place in the western part of 
Greece, in the island of Corcyra, before which a naval battle 
was fought between the Lacedaemonians and the Athenians. 
The island had been governed by oligarchies, under the pro- 
tection of Sparta, but the retirement of the Lacedae- Cruelties of 
monian fleet enabled the Athenian general to wreak *^® at*co?-^' 
his vengeance on the party which had held su- ^y^^- 

premacy, which was exterminated in the most cruel manner, 

12 



178 The Pelo^onnesian War. [Chap. xiv. 

wMcli produced a profound sensation, and furnished Thucydi- 
des a theme for the most profound reflections on the acerbity 
and ferocity of the political parties, which, it seems, then di- 
vided Greece, and were among the exciting causes of the war 
itself — the struggle between the advocates of democratic and 
aristocratic institutions. 

A new character now appears upon the stage at Athens — 
Nicias — one of the ten generals who, in rank and 

Niriias. 

wealth, was the equal of Pericles. He belonged 
to the oligarch al party, and succeeded Cimon and Thucydi- 
des in the control of it. But he was moderate in his con- 
duct, and so won the esteem of his countrymen, that he 
retained power until his death, although opposed to the 
party which had the ascendency. He was incorruptible as 
He continues to pecuniary gjains, and adopted the conservative 
Pericles. vicws of Periclcs, avoiding new acquisitions at a 
distance, or creating new enemies. He surrounded himself, 
not as Pericles did, with philosophers, but religious men, 
avoided all scandals, and employed his large fortune in 
securing popularity. Pericles disdained to win the people 
by such means, cultivated art, and patronized the wits who 
surrounded Aspasia. Nicias was zealous in the worship of 
the gods, was careful to make no enemies, and conciliated 
the poor by presents. Yet he increased his private fortune, 
so far as he could, by honorable means, and united thrift and 
sagacity with honesty and piety. He was not a man of com- 
manding genius, but his character was above reproach, and 
Opposed by was ucvcr assailcd by the comic writers. He was 

Alcibiades n k -, -i • -, -, -i n ^ 

and cieon. the great opponent oi Alcibiades, the oracle oi the 

democracy — one of those memorable demagogues who made 

use of the people to forward his ambitious projects. He was 

also the opponent of Cleon, whose office it was to supervise 

official men for their public conduct, — a man of great eloquence, 

but fault-finding and denunciatory. 

The fifth year of the war was not signalized by the usual 

The fifth invasion of Attica, which ffave the Athenians lei- 
year of the T . ■^ -XT- • • -L 

war. sure to send an expedition under Jn icias against tne 



Chap, xiv-i Sixth Year of the War. 179 

island of Melos, inhabited by ancient colonists from Sparta. 
Demosthenes, another general, was sent around the Pelopon- 
nesus to attack Acarnania, and he ravaged the whole terri- 
tory of Leucas. He also attacked ^tolia, but was completely 
beaten, and obliged to retire Avith loss ; but this defeat was 
counterbalanced by a great victory, the next year, over the 
enemy at Olpae, when the Lacedaemonian general was slain. 
He returned in triumph to Athens with considerable spoil. 
The attention of the Athenians was now directed to Delos, 
the island sacred to Apollo, and a complete purification 
of the island was made, and the old Delian festivals renewed 
with peculiar splendor. 

The war had now lasted six years, without any grand or 

decisive results on either side. The expeditions The sixth 

i . T ys*^ of the 

of both parties were of the nature of raids — war. 

destructive, cruel, irritating, but without bringing any 
grand triumphs. Though the seventh year was marked by 
the usual enterprise on the part of the Lacedaemonians — the 
invasion of Attica — Corcyra promised to be the principal 
scene of military operations. Both an Athenian and Spartan 
fleet was sent thither. But an unforeseen incident gave a 
new character to the war. In the course of the voyage to 
Corcyra, Demosthenes, the Athenian general,- stopped at 
Pylos, with the intention of erecting a fort on the unin- 
habited promontory, since it protected the spacious basin 
now known as the bay of Navarino, and was itself Undecisive 

-n n T n • 1 • ' "*ture of 

easily defended. Eurymedon, the admiral, m- the conflict. 
sisted on going directly to Corcyra, but the fleet was driven 
by a storm into the very harbor which Demosthenes pro- 
posed to defend. The place was accordingly fortified by 
Demosthenes, where he himself remained with a garrison, 
while the fleet proceeded to Corcyra. Intelligence of this 
insult to Sparta — the attempt to plant a hostile fort on its 
territory — induced the Lacedaemonians to send their fleet to 
Pylos, instead of Corcyra. Forty-three triremes, under 
Thrasymelidas, and a powerful land force, advanced to at- 
tack Demosthenes, intrenched with his small army on the 



180 The Peloponnesian War. [Chap. xiv. 

rocky promontory. When the news of this new diversion 
reached the Athenian fleet at Corcyra, it returned to Pylos, 
to succor Demosthenes. Here a naval battle took place, in 
Great defeat which the Lacedsemouians were defeated. This 
daemonians' defeat jeopardized the situation of the Spartan 
^- ^^' army which had occujDJed the island of Spac- 
teria, cut off from supplies from the main land, as well as 
the existence of the fleet. So great was this exigency, that 
the ephors came from Sparta to consult on operations. 
They took a desponding view, and sent a herald to the 
Athenian generals to propose an armistice, in order to allow 
Sparta seeks time for envoys to go to Athens and treat for 
peace. peacc. But Athens demanded now her own terms, 

elated by the success. Cleon, the organ of the popular 
mind, excited and sanguine, gave utterance to the feelings 
of the people, and insisted on the restoration of all the ter- 
ritory they had lost during the war. The LacedaBmonian 
envoys, unable to resist a vehement speaker like Cleon, 
which required qualities they did not possess, and which 
could only be acquired from skill in managing popular as- 
semblies, to which they were unused, returned to Pylos. 
And it was the object of Cleon to prevent a hearing of the 
envoys by a select committee (what they desired) for fear that 
ISTicias and other conservative politicians would accede to 
their proposals. Thus the best opportunity that could be 

Peace pre- presented for makino; an honorable peace and re- 
vented by ^ . . ^ 111 P T 

Cleon. unitmg Greece was lost by the arts oi a dema- 
gogue, who inflamed and shared the popular passions. Had 
Pericles been alive, the treaty would probably have been 
made, but Nicias had not suflicient influence to secure it. 

War therefore recommenced, with fresh irritation. The 
EeneAved Athenian fleet blockaded the island where the 
hostilities. Spartan hoplites were posted, and found in the 
attempt, which they thought so easy, unexpected obstacles. 
Provisions clandestinely continually reached the besieged. 
Week after week passed without the expected surrender. 
Demosthenes, baffled for want of provisions and water for 



Chap. XIV.] Triumjph of the Athenians. 181 

his own fleet, sent urgently to Athens for re-enforcements, 
which caused infinite mortification. The people now began 
to regret that they had listened to Cleon, and not to the 
voice of wisdom. Cleon himself was sent with the re-en- 
forcements demanded, against his will, although he was not 
one of the ten generals. The island of Sphacteria now con- 
tained the bravest of the Lacedaemonian troops — from the 
first families of Sparta — a prey which Cleon and Demos- 
thenes were eager to grasp. They attacked the island with 
ia force double of that of the defenders, altogether ten 
thousand men, eight hundred of whom were hoplites. The 
besieo^ed could not resist this overwhelmino: force, and re- 
treated to their last redoubt, but were surrounded and taken 
prisoners. This surrender caused astonishment surrender of 
throughout Greece, since it was supposed the Si'^'^<^'^'^"»- 
Spartan hoplites would die, as they did at Thermopylae, 
rather than allow^ them selves to be taken alive, and this 
calamity diminished greatly the lustre of the Spartan arms. 
A modern army, surrounded with an overwhelming force, 
against which all resistance was madness, would have done 
the same as the Spartans. But it was a sad blow to them. 
Cleon, within twenty days of his departure, arrived at 
Athens with his three hundred Lacedaemonian Triumph 
prisoners, amid universal shouts of joy, for it was Athenians. 
the most triumphant success which the Athenians had yet 
obtained. The war was prosecuted with renewed vigor, 
and the Lacedaemonians again made advances for peace, but 
without effect. The flushed victors would hear of who refuse 

all overtures 

no terms but what were disgraceful to the Spartans, of peace. 
The chances were now most favorable to Athens. Nicias 
invaded the Corinthian territory with eighty triremes, two 
thousand hoplites, and two hundred horsemen, to say nothing 
of the large number which supported these, and committed 
the same ravages that the Spartans and their allies had in- 
flicted upon Attica. 

Among other events, the Athenians this year captured the 
Persian embassador, Artaphernes, on his way to Sparta. He 



182 The Pelo^onnesian War, [Chap. xiv. 

was brought to Athens, and his dispatches were translated 
and made public. He was sent back to Ephesus, with 
Athenian envoys, to the great king, to counteract the 
influence of the Spartans, but Artaxerxes had died when 
they reached Susa. 

The capture of Sphacteria, and the surrender of the whole 
Situation of Laccdaemonian fleet, not only placed Athens, on the 
eighth year Opening of the eighth year of the war, in a situa- 
ewar. \\QYi morc Commanding than she had previously 
enjoyed, but stimulated her to renewed operations on a 
grander scale, not merely against Sparta, but to recover the 
ascendency in Boeotia, which was held before the thirty 
years' truce. The Lacedaemonians, in concert with the 
revolted Chalcidic allies of Athens in Thrace, and Perdiccas, 
king of Macedonia, also made great preparations for more 
decisive measures. The war had dragged out seven years, 
and nothing was accomplished which seriously weakened ^ 
either of tlie contending parties. 

The first movement was made by the Athenians on the 
Laconian coast. The island of Cythera was captured by an 
expedition led by Nicias, of sixty triremes and two thousand 
hoplites, beside other forces, and the coast was ravaged. 
Then Thyrea, an ^ginetan settlement, between Laconia and 
Argolis, fell into the hands of the Athenians, and all the 
JSginetans were either killed in the assault, or put to death 
as prisoners. These successive disasters alarmed the Lace- 
daemonians, and they now began to fear repeated assaults on 
their own territory, with a discontented population of Helots. 
This fear prompted an act of cruelty and treachery which 
had no parallel in the history of the war. Two thousand of 
Despair of the bravcst Helots were entrapped, as if especial 
monians and houors wcrc to bc bcstowcd upou them, and barbar- 

slaughter of ■*• 

the Helots, ously slaiu. Nouc but the five ephors knew the 
bloody details. There was even no public examination of this 
savage inhumanity, which shows that Sparta was goveined, 
as Venice was in the Middle Ages, by a small but exceed- 
ingly powerful oligarchy. 



Chap. XIV.] Attack on Bo&otia. 183 

After this cruelty was consummated, envoys came from 
Perdiccas and the Chalcidians of Thrace, invoking aid against 
Athens. It was joyfully granted, and Brasidas, at the 
request of Perdiccas and the Chalcidians, was sent with a 
large force of Peloponnesian hoplites. 

Meanwhile the Athenians formed plans to attack Megara, 
whose inhabitants had stimulated the war, and had Attack of 
been the greatest sufferers by it. A force was ^^s'*^*- 
sent under Hippocrates and Demosthenes to surprise the 
place, and also Nissea. The long walls of Megara, similar 
to those of Athens, were taken by surprise, and the Athe- 
nians found themselves at the gates of the city, which came 
near falling into their hands by treachery. Baffled for the 
moment, the Athenians attacked Clisaca, which lay behind 
it, and succeeded. 

But Brasidas, the Lacedaemonian general, learning that the 
long walls had fallen into the hands of the Athe- Relieved by 
nians, got together a large force of six thousand ^^'^^idas. 
hoplites and six hundred cavalry, and relieved Megara, and 
the Athenians were obliged to retire. Ultimately the Mega- 
rians regained possession of the long walls, and instituted an 
oligarchal government. 

The Athenians, disappointed in getting possession of Megara, 
which failed by one of those accidents ever recurring in war, 
organized a large force for the attack of Boeotia, on three sides, 
under Hippocrates and Demosthenes. The attack was first 
made at Siphac, by Demosthenes, on the Corinthian Gulf, but 
failed. In spite of this failure by sea, Hippocrates occupation 
marched with a land force to Delium, with seven ^^ Se Athe- 
thousand hoplites, and twenty-five thousand other ^^^°®- 
troops, and occujDied the place, which was a temple conse- 
crated to Apollo, and strongly fortified it. When the work 
of fortification was completed, the army prepared to return 
to Athens. 

Forces from all parts of Boeotia rallied, and met the Athe- 
nians. Among the forces of the Boeotians was the famous 
Theban band of three hundred select warriors, accustomed 



184 The Pelojponnesian War. [Chap. xiv. 

to fight in pairs, each man attached to his companion by 
peculiar ties of friendship. At Delium was fought the great 
Battle of battle of the war, in which the Athenians were 
Delium. routcd, and the general, Hippocrates, with a thou- 
sand hoplites, were slain. The victors refused the Athenians 
the sacred right of burying their dead, unless they retired 
altogether from Delium — the post they had fortified on 
Bceotian territory. To this the Athenians refused to sub- 
mit, the consequence of which was the siege and capture of 
Delium. 

Among the hoplites who fought in this unfortunate battle, 
which was a great discouragement to the Athenian cause, 
was the philosopher Socrates. The famous Alcibiades also 
served in the cavalry, and helped to protect Socrates in his 
retreat, after having bravely fought. 

The disasters of the Athenians in Thrace were yet more 
Diasters of Considerable. Brasidas, with a large force, includ- 
n^aiisiu^" ^"& Seventeen hundred hoplites, rapidly marched 
Thrace. through Thracc and Thessaly, and arrived in 

Macedonia safely, and attacked Acanthus, an ally of Athens. 
It fell into his hands, as well as Stagira, and he was thus 
enabled to lay plans for the acquisition of Amphipolis, which 
was founded by Athenian colonists. He soon became master 
of the surrounding territory. He then offered favorable 
terms of capitulation to the citizens of the town, which were 
accepted, and the city surrendered — the most important of 
all the foreign possessions of Athens. The bridge over the 
Successes of Strymon was also opened, by which all the eastern 
Brasidas. alUcs of Athcus wcrc approachable by land. This 
great reverse sent dismay into the hearts of the Athenians, 
greater than had before been felt. The bloody victory at 
Delium, and the conquests of Brasidas, more than balanced 
the capture of Sphacteria. Sparta, under the victorious 
banner of Brasidas, a general of great probity, good faith, 
and moderation, now proclaimed herself liberator of Greece. 
Athens, discouraged and baffled, lost all the prestige she had 
gained. 



Chap. XIV.] Truce for one Year. 185 

But Amphipolis was lost by the negligence of the Athe- 
nian commanders. Eucles and Thucydides, the historian, to 
whom the defense of the place was intrusted, had Loss of Am- 
means ample to prevent the capture had they em- I'^'p^^^^- 
ployed ordinary precaution. The Athenians, indignant, ban- 
ished Thucydides for twenty years, and probably Eucles 
also — a just sentence, since they did not keep the bridge over 
the Strymon properly guarded, nor retained the Athenian 
squadron at Eion. The banishment of Thucydides gave him 
leisure to write the history on which his great fame rests — 
the most able and philosophical of all the historical works 
of antiquity. 

Brasidas, after the fall of Amphipolis, extended his military 
operations with success. He took Torone, Lecythus, and 
other places, and then went into winter quarters. The cam- 
paign had been disastrous to the Athenian^, and Truce of one 
a truce of one year was agreed npon by the bellig- ^'^^^' 
erent parties — Athens of the one party, and Sparta, Corinth, 
Sicyon, Epidaurus, and Megara, of the other. 

T?ie conditions of this truce stipulated that Delphi might 
be visited by all Greeks, without distinction ; that all viola- 
tions of the property of the Delphian god should be prompt- 
ly punished ; that the Athenian garrisons at Py- xts condi- 
lus, Cythera, Nisoea, and Methana, should remain ^^"°^' 
unmolested ; that the Lacedaemonians should be free to use 
the sea for trading purposes ; and that neither side should 
receive deserters from the other — important to both parties, 
since Athens feared the revolt of subject allies, and Sparta 
the desertion of Helots. 

But two days had elapsed after the treaty was made be- 
fore Scione in Thrace revolted to Brasidas — a great cause of 
exasperation to the Athenians, although the revolt took 
place before the treaty was known. Mendes, a neighboring 
town, also revolted. Brasidas sent the inhabitants a garrison 
to protect themselves, and departed with his forces for an, 
expedition into the interior of Macedonia, but was soon 
compelled to retreat before the Illyrians. 



186 The Peloponnesian War. [Chap. xiv. 

An Athenian force, under Nicias and Kicostratus, however, 
proceeded to Thrace to recover the revolted cities. Every- 
Both cieon wherc else the truce was observed. It was in- 
opp(SeTuo^^ tended to give terras for more complete negotia- 
te truce. tions. This was the policy of jN'icias. But Cleon 
and his party, the democracy, was opposed to peace, and 
wished to prosecute the war vigorously in Thrace. Brasi- 
das, on his part, was equally in favor of continued hostili- 
ties. And this was the great question of the day in Greece. 

The war party triumphed, and Cleon, by no means an able 
general, was sent with an expedition to recover Amphipolis, 
B. c, 422. He succeeded in taking Torone, but Amphipolis, 
built on a hill in the peninsula formed by the river Strymon, 
as it passes from the Strymonic Gulf to Lake Kerkernilis, 
was a strongly fortified place in which Brasidas was intrenched. 
Cleon was obliged to remain inactive at the mouth of the 
river, three miles distant from Amphipolis, which excited 
great discontent in his army, but which was the wiser course, 
until his auxiliaries arrived. But the murmur of the hop- 
lites compelled him to some sort of action, and while he 
Death of was recounoitering, he was attacked by Brasidas. 

Cleon and of ^ i -n n n i • n t p T 

Brasidas. (Jleou was killed, and his army totally deieated. 
Brasidas, the ablest general of the day, however, was also 
mortally wounded, and carried from the field. This unsuc- 
cessful battle compelled the Athenians to return home, 
deeply disgusted with their generals. But they embarked 
in the enterprise reluctantly, and with no faith in their 
leader, and this was one cause of their defeat. The death 
of Brasidas, however, converted the defeat into a substantial 
victory, since there remained no Spartan with sufficient 
ability to secure the confidence of the allies. Brasidas, when 
he died, was the first man in Greece, and universally admired 
for his valor, intelligence, probity, and magnanimity. 

The battle of Amphipolis was decisive ; it led to a peace 

Conse- between the contending parties. It is called the 

the"batueof pcacc of Nicias, made in March, b. c. 421. By the 

mp ipo IS. provisions of this treaty of peace, which was made 



Chap. XIV.] AlciUades. 187 

for fifty years, Amphipolis was restored to the Athenians, 
all persons had full liberty to visit the public temples of 
Greece, the Athenians restored the captive Spartans, and the 
various towns taken during the war were restored on both 
Bides. This peace was concluded after a ten years' tj,^ ^^^^^ 
war, when the resources of both parties were ex- ^^ ^^cias. 
hausted. It was a war of ambition and jealousy, without 
sufficient reasons, and its consequences were disastrous to 
the general welfare of Greece. In some respects it must be 
considered, not merely as a war between Sparta and Athens 
to gain supremacy, but a war between the partisans of aris- 
tocratic and democratic institutions throughout the various 
States. 

The peace made by Nicias between Athens and Sparta for 
fifty years was not of Ions; continuance. It was a Causes of 

•' •' . . , the war still 

truce rather than a treaty, snice neither party was continued. 
overthrown — but merely crippled — like Rome and Carthage 
after the first Punic war. The same causes which pro- 
voked the contest still remained — an unextinguishable 
jealousy between States nearly equal in pow'er, and the 
desire of ascendency at any cost. But we do not perceive 
in either party that persistent and self-sacrificing spirit which 
marked the Romans in their conquest of Italy. The Romans 
abandoned every thing which interfered with their aggress- 
ive policy : the Grecian States were diverted from political 
aggrandizement by other objects of pursuit — pleasure, art, 
wealth. 

There was needed only a commanding demagogue, popu- 
lar, brilliant, and unprincipled, to embroil Greece once more 
in war, and such a man was Alcibiades, who appeared upon 
the stage at the death of Cleon. And hostilities were easily 
kindled, since the allies on both sides were averse to the 
treaty which had been made, and the conditions of the peace 
were not fulfilled. Athens returned the captive 
Spartans she had held since the battle of Sphacteria, 
but Amphipolis was not restored, from the continued enmity 
of the Thracian cities. Both parties were full of intrigues, 



188 The Peloponnesian War. [Chap. xiv. 

and new combinations were constantly being formea. Argos 
became the centre of a new Peloponnesian alliance. A 
change of ephors at Sparta favored hostile measures, and an 
alliance was made between the Boeotians and Lacedaemonians. 
The Athenians, on their side, captured Scione, and put to 
death the prisoners. 

It was in this unsettled state of things, when all the late 
contending States Avere insincere and vacillating, that Alci- 
Character of ^^^^^^^ stood forth as a party leader. He was 
Aicibiades. thirty-one years of age, belonged to an ancient and 
powerful family, possessed vast wealth, had great personal 
beauty and attractive manners, but above all, was unbound- 
edly ambitious, and grossly immoral — the most insolent, un- 
principled, licentious, and selfish man that had thus far scan- 
dalized and adorned Athenian society. The only redeeming 
feature in his character was his friendship for Socrates, who, 
it seems, fascinated him by his talk, and sought to improve 
his morals. He had those brilliant qualities, and luxurious 
habits, and ostentatious prodigality, which so often dazzle 
superficial people, especially young men of fashion and Avealth, 
but more even than they, the idolatrous rabble. So great 
was his popularity and social prestige, that no injured person 
ever dared to bring him to trial, and he even rescued his own 
wife from the hands of the law when she sought to procure a 
divorce — a proof that even in democratic Athens all bowed 
down to the insolence of wealth and high social position. 

Alcibiades, though luxurious and profligate, saw that a 
severe intellectual training was necessar}^ to him if he would 
His inteiiec- ^^^^^ rank as a politician, for a politician Avho can 
under socrlJ ^^^ make a speech stands a poor chance of popular 
tes. favor. So he sought the instructions of Socrates, 

Prodicus, Protagoras, and others — not for love of learning, 
but as means of success, although it may be supposed that 
the intellectual excitement, which the discourse, cross-ex- 
amination, and ironical sallies of Socrates produced, was not 
without its force on so bright a mind. 

Alcibiades commenced his public life with a sullied repu 



Chap, xiy.] AlciUades. 189 

tation, and with numerous enemies created by his unbearable 
insolence, but with a flexibility of character which ms abandon, 
enabled him to adapt himself to whatever habits ^^^^^^'^ 
circumstances required. He inspired no confidence, and 
his extravagant mode of life was sure to end in ruin, unless 
he reimbursed himself out of the public funds ; and yet he 
fascinated the peoj^le who mistrusted and liated him. The 
great comic poet, Aristophanes, said of him to the Athenians : 
"You ought not to keejD a lion's whelp in your city at all, 
but if you choose to keep him, you must submit to his 
behavior." 

Alcibiades, in commencing his political life, departed from 
his family traditions ; for lie was a relative of Pericles, and 
became a partisan of the oligarchal party. But he jj.^ 
soon changed his politics, on receiving a repulse intrigues. 
from the Spartans, who despised him, and he became a vio- 
lent democrat. His first memorable effort was to bring 
Argos, then in league with Sparta, into alliance with Athens, 
in which he was successful. He then cheated the Lacedae- 
monian envoys who were sent to protest against the alliance 
and make other terms, and put them in a false position, and 
made them appear deceitful, and thus arrayed against them 
the wrath of the Athenians. As Alcibiades had prevailed 
upon these envoys, by false promises and advice, to act a part 
different from what they were sent to perform, Nicias was 
sent to Sparta to clear up embarrassments, but failed in his 
object, upon which Athens concluded an alliance with Argos, 
Elis, and Mantinea, which only tended to complicate existing 
difficulties. 

Shortly after this alliance was concluded, the Olympic 
games were celebrated with unusual interest, from jj.^, e^trava- 
which the Athenians had been excluded during the gjyjnpic*^® 
war. Here Alcibiades appeared with seven chariots, ga^^^es. 
each with four horses, when the richest Greeks had hitherto 
possessed but one, and gained two prizes. He celebrated his 
success by a magnificent banquet more stately and expensive 
than those given by kings. But while the Athenians thus 



190 The Pelojponnesiaii Wa7\ [Chap. xiv. 

ajjpeared at the ninetieth Olympiad, the Lacedsemonians were 
excluded by the Eleians, who controlled the festival, from an 
alleged violation of the Olympic truce, but really from the 
intrigues of Alcibiades. 

The subsequent attack of Argos and Athens on Epidaurus 
Eenewai of P^'^ved that the peace between Athens and Sparta 
hostilities, existed only in name. It was distinctly violated 
by the attack of Argos by the Lacedaemonians, Bceotians, and 
Corinthians, and the battle of Mantinea opened again the 
war. This was decided in favor of the Lacedsemonians, with 
a great loss to the Athenians and their allies, including both 
their generals. Laches and JSTicostratus. 

The moral effect of the battle of Mantinea, b. c. 418, was 
Effect of the overwhelming throughout Greece, and re-established 
Mantinea. the military prestige of Sparta. It was lost by the 
withdrawal of three thousand Eleians before the battle, illus- 
tratino* the remark of Pericles that numerous and equal allies 
could never be kept in harmonious co-operation. One effect 
of the battle was a renewed alliance between Sparta and 
Argos, and the re-establishment of an oligarchal govern- 
ment in the latter city. Mantinea submitted to Sparta, and 
the Achaian towns were obliged to submit to a remodeling 
of their political institutions, according to the views of 
Sparta. The people of Argos, however, took the first occa- 
sion which was presented for regaining their power, assisted 
by an Athenian force under Alcibiades, and Argos once again 
became an ally of Athens. 

The next important operation of the war was the siege 
Sieo-e of ^^^ conqucst of Mclos, a Dorian island, by the 
Meios. Athenians, b. c. 416. The inhabitants were killed, 

and the women and children were sold as slaves, and an 
Athenian colony wa^ settled on the island. But this massacre, 
exceeding even the customary cruelty of war in those times, 
raised a general indignation among the allies of Sparta. 

But an expedition of far greater importance was now un- 
Theinva- dcrtakcn by the Athenians — the most arisrantic 

8ion of . •' . 

Sicily. effort which they ever made, but which terminated 



Chap. XIV.] Sicilian Colonies. 191 

disastrously, and led to the ruin and subjugation of their 
proud and warlike city, as a political power. This was tho 
invasion of Sicily and siege of Syracuse. 

Before we present this unfortunate expedition, some brief 
notice is necessary of the Grecian colonies in Sicily. 

In the eighth century before Christ Sicily was inhabited 
by two distinct races of barbarians — the Sikels The Grecian 
and Sikans — besides Phoenician colonies, for pur- Siciiy. 
poses of trade. The Sikans were an Iberian tribe, and were 
immigrants of an earlier date than the Sikels, by whom 
they were invaded. -The earliest Grecian colony was 
(b. c. 735) at Naxos, on the eastern coast of the island, be- 
tween the Straits of Messina and Mount JEtna, founded by 
Theocles, a Chalcidian mariner, who was cast by storms upon 
the coast, and built a fort on a hill called Taurus, to defend 
himself against the Sikels, who were in possession of the 
larger half of the island. Other colonists followed, chiefly 
from the Peloponnesus. In the year following that IsTaxos 
was founded, a body of settlers from Corinth landed on the 
islet Ortygia, expelled the Sikel inhabitants, and laid the 
foundation of Syracuse. Successive settlements 
were made forty-five years after at Gela, in the ^ 
southwestern part of the island. Other settlements continued 
to be made, not only from Greece, but from the colonies 
themselves; so that the old inhabitants were gradually 
Hellenized and merged with Greek colonists, while the Greeks, 
in their turn, adopted many of the habits and customs of 
the Sikels and Sikans. The various races lived on terms of 
amity, for the native population was not numerous enough 
to become formidable to the Grecian colonists. 

Five hundred years before Christ the most powerful 
Grecian cities in Sicily were Agrigentum and Gela, A^ri^entum 
on the south side of the island. The former, «n^Geia. 
within a few years of its foundation, b. c. 570, fell under the 
dominion of one of its rich citizens, Phalasaris, who proved 
a cruel despot, but after a reign of sixteen years he was 
killed in an insurrection, and an oligarchal government was 



192 The Felojponnesian War. [Chap. xiv. 

established, such as then existed in most of the Grecian 
cities. Syracuse was governed in this way by the descend- 
^ . ants of the orisrinal settlers. Gela was, on the 

The reign ^ ' 

of Geio. other hand, ruled by a despot called Gelo, the 
most j)Owerful man on the island. He got possession of 
Syracuse, b. c. 485, and transferred the seat of his power to 
this city, by bringing thither the leading people and making 
slaves of the rest. Under Gelo Syracuse became the first 
city on the island, to which other towns were tributary. 
When the Greeks confederated against Xerxes, they sent to- 
solicit his aid as the imperial leader of Sicily, and he could 
command, according to Herodotus, twenty thousand hoplites, 
two hundred triremes, two thousand cavalry, two thousand 
archers, and two thousand light-armed horse. So great was 
His power then the power of this despot, who now sought to 
in Sicily. expel the Carthaginians and unite all the Hellenic 
colonies in Sicily under his sway. But the aid was not given, 
probably on account of a Carthaginian invasion simultane- 
ous with the expedition of the Persian king. The Cartha- 
ginians, according to the historian, arrived at Panormus b. c. 
480, with a fleet of three thousand ships and a land force of 
three hundred thousand men, besides chariots and horses, 
under Hamilcar — a mercenary army, composed of various 
African nations. Gelo marched against him with fifty thou- 
sand foot and five thousand horse, and gained a complete 
victory, so that one hundred and fifty thousand, on the side 
of the Carthaginians, were slain, together with their general. 
The number of the combatants is doubtless exaggerated, 
but we may believe that the force was very great. Gelo was 
now supreme in Sicily, and the victory of Himera, which he 
had gained, enabled him to distribute a large body of 
prisoners, as slaves, in all the Grecian colonies. It appears 
that he was much respected, but he died shortly after his 
victory, leaving an infant son to the guardianship of two of 
His succes- ^^^ brothers, Polyzelus and Hiero, who became the 
Bor Hiero. supreme governors of the island. A victory gained 
by Hiero over the tyrant of Agrigentum gave him the same 



Chap. XIV.] Sicilian Cities, 193 

supremacy which Gelo had enjoyed. On his death, b. c. 467, 
the succession was disputed between his brother, Thrasy- 
bulus, and his nephew, the son of Gelo ; but Thrasybulus 
contrived to make away with his nephew, and reigned alone^ 
cruelly and despotically, until a revolution took place, which 
resulted in his expulsion and the fall of the Gelonian dy- 
nasty. Popular governments were now established in all the 
Sicilian cities, but these were* distracted by disputes and confu- 
sions. Syracuse became isolated from the other cities, and the 
powers of government were limited to the city. The expul- 
sion of the Gelonian dynasty left the Grecian cities to re- 
organize free and constitutional governments ; but Syracuse 
maintained a proud pre-eminence, and her power Qranrieur of 
was increased from time to time by conquests in Syracuse. 
the interior over the old population. Agrigentum was next 
in power, and scarcely inferior in wealth. The temple of 
Zeus, in this city, was one of the most magnificent in the 
world. The population was large, and many were the rich 
men who kept chariots and competed at the Olympic games. 
In these Sicilian cities the intellectual improvement kept 
pace with the material, and the little town of Elea supported 
the two greatest speculative philosophers of Greece — 'Par- 
menides and Zeno. Empedocles, of Agrigentum, was 
scarcely less famous. 

Such was the state of the Sicilian cities on the outbreak of 
the Peloponnesian war. Being generally of Dorian The Dorian 
origin, they sympathized with Sparta, and great slci^y^make 
expectations were formed by the Lacedaemonians Tcfnian! ^^^ 
of assistance from their Sicilian allies. The cities of Sieily 
could not behold the contest between Athens and Sparta 
without being drawn into the quarrel, and the result was. 
that the Dorian cities made war on the Ionian cities, which,, 
of course, sympathized with Athens. As these cities were< 
weaker than the Dorian, they solicited aid from Athens, and 
an expedition was sent to Sicily under Laches, b. c. 426. 
Another one, under Polydorus, followed, but without deci- 
sive results. The next year still another and larger expedi- 
13 



194 The Pelojponnesian War. [Chap. xiv. 

tion, under Eurymedon and Sophocles, arrived in Sicily, while 
Athens was jubilant by the possession of the Spartan pris- 
oners, and the possession of Pylus and Cythera. The Sici- 
lian cities now fearing that their domestic strife would en- 
danger their independence and make them subject to Athens, 
the most ambitious and powerful State in Greece, made a 
common league with each other. Eurymedon acceded to 
the peace and returned to Athens, much to the displeasure 
of the war party, which embraced most of the people, and he 
and his colleague were banished. 

But wars between the Sicilian cities again led to the inter- 
intervention vcntion of Athens. Egesta especially sent envoys 
of Athens. ^^^ hoi^ in her struggle against Selinus, which was 
assisted by Syracuse. Alcibiades warmly seconded these 
envoys, and inflamed the people with his ambitious pro- 
jects. He, more than any other man, was the cause of the 
great Sicilian expedition which proved the ruin of his 
country. He was opposed by IsTicias, who foretold all the 
Opposed by miserable consequences of so distant an expedition, 
^Jfored^by whcu SO little could be gained and so much would 
Alcibiades. ^^ jeopardized, and when, on the first reverse, the 
enemies of Athens would rally against her. He particu- 
larly cautioned his countrymen not only against the ex- 
pedition, but against intrusting the command of it to an 
unprincipled and selfish man who squandered his own 
patrimony in chariot i^ces and other extravagances, and 
would be wasteful of the public property — a man with- 
out the experience which became a leader in so great an 
enterprise. Alcibiades, in reply, justified his extravagance 
at the Olympic games, where he contested with seven 
chariots, as a means to impress Sparta with the wealth 
and power of Athens, after a ten years' war. He inflamed 
the ambition of the assembly, held out specious hopes of 
a glorious conquest which would add to Athenian power, 
and make her not merely pre-eminent, but dominant in 
Greece. The assembly, eager for war and glory, sided 
with the youthful and magnificent demagogue, and disre- 



CiiAP. XTV.] Expedition against Syracuse. 195 

garded the counsels of the old patriot, whose wisdom and 
experience were second to none in the city. 

Consequently the expedition was fitted out for the attack 
of Syracuse — the largest and most i^owerful Athenian 
which Athens ever sent against an enemy ; for aSlntt^^"^ 
all classes, maddened by military glory, or Syracuse. 
tempted by love of gain, eagerly embarked in the enter- 
prise. Nicias, finding he could not prevent the expedi- 
tion, demanded more than he thought the people would 
be willing to grant. He proposed a gigantic force. But 
in proposing this force, he hoped he might thus discourage 
the Athenians altogether by the very greatness of the arma- 
ment which he deemed necessary. But so popular Avas the 
enterprise, that the large force he suggested was voted. 
Alcibiades had flattered the people that their city was 
mistress of the sea, and entitled to dominion over all the 
islands, and could easily prevail over any naval enemy. 

Three years had now elapsed since the peace of Nicias, 
and Athens had ample means. The treasury was Seif-confi- 
full, and triremes had accumulated in the har- Athenians. 
bor. The confidence of the Athenians was as unbounded 
as was that of Xerxes when he crossed the Hellespont, and 
hence there had been great zeal and forwardness in prepa- 
ration. 

When the expedition w^as at last ready, an event occurred 
which filled the city with gloom and anxious fore- ^jnfavora- 
bodings. The half statues of the god Hermes We auguries. 
were distributed in great numbers in Athens in the most 
conspicuous situations, beside the doors of private houses 
and temples, and in the agora, so that the people were 
accustomed to regard the god as domiciled among them for 
their protection. In one night, at the end of May, b. c. 415, 
these statues were nearly all mutilated. The heads, necks, 
and busts were all destroyed, leaving the lower part af 
them — mere quadrangular pillars, without arms, or legs, or 
body — alone standing. The sacrilege sent, universal dismay 
into the city, and was regarded as a most depressing omen^ 



196 The Peloponnesian War, [Chap. xiv. 

and was done, doubtless, with a view of ruining Alcibiades 
and frustrating the expedition. But all efforts were vain to 
discover the guilty parties. 

And this was not the only means adopted to break down 
Alcibiades the ]30wer of a man whom the more discerning 
vuigins the perceivcd was the evil genius of Athens. Alcibi- 

Eleusinian _ ttt -^ (*^ • r ■^ i 

mysteries. ades was publicly accused oi having proianed and 
divulged the Eleusinian mysteries. The charge was denied 
by Alcibiades, who demanded an immediate trial. It was 
eluded by his enemies, who preferred to have the charge 
hanging over his head, in case of the failure of the enterprise 
which he had projected. 

So the fleet sailed from Piraeus amid mingled sentiments 
Sailing of the of anxiety and popular enthusiasm. It consisted 
fleet. of one hundred triremes, with a large body of hop- 

lites. It made straight for Corcyra, where the contingents 
of the allies were assembled, which nearly doubled its force. 
The Svracusans were well informed as to its destination, and 
made great exertions to meet this great armament, under 
ISTicias, Alcibiades, and Lamachus. The latter commander 
recommended an immediate attack of Syracuse, as unpre- 
pared and dismayed. 

Alcibiades wished first to open negotiations with the 
Sikels, of the interior, to detach them from the aid of. Syra- 
cuse. His plan was followed, but before he could carry it 
into operation he was summoned home to take his trial. 
Escape of Ai- Fearing the result of the accusations against him, 
Sparta. for, in his absence, the popular feeling had changed 

respecting him — fear and reason had triumphed over the power 
of his personal fascination — Alcibiades made his escape to the 
Peloponnesus. \ 

The master spirit of the expedition was now removed, and 
its operations were languid and undecided, for Nicias had no 
Nicias com- heart in it. The delays which occurred gave the 

mands the . t /? t 

expedition. Syracusans time to prepare, and more conndence 
in their means of defense. So that wheri the forces of the 
Athenians were landed in the great harbor, they found a 



Chap. XIV.] Description of Syracuse. 197 

powerful army ready to resist them. In spite of a victory 
which Nicias gained near Olympeion, the Syracusans were 
not dejected, and the Athenian fleet was^ obliged to seek 
winter quarters at Catana, and also send for additional re- 
enforcements. Nicias unwisely delayed, but his inexcusable 
apathy afforded the enemy leisure to enlarge their fortifica- 
tions. The Syracusans constructed an entirely new wall 
around the inner and outer city, and which also extended 
across the whole space from the outer sea to the great har- 
bor, so that it would be diflScult for the Athenians, in the 
coming siege, to draw lines of circumvallation around the city. 
Syracuse also sent envoys to Corinth and Sparta for aid, 
while Alcibiades, filled now with intense hatred of Kebeiiionand 

, treason of Al- 

Athens, encouraged the Lacedaemonians to send a cibiades. 
force to the Sicilian capital. He admitted that it was the de- 
sign of Athens first to conquer the Sicilian Greeks, and then 
the Italian Greeks ; then to make an attempt on Carthage, and 
then, if that was successful, to bring together all the forces 
of the subjected States and attack the Peloponnesus itself, 
and create a great empire, of which Athens was to be the 
capital. Such an avowal was doubtless the aim of the 
ambitious Alcibiades when he first stimulated the enterprise, 
which, if successful, would have made him the most power- 
ful man in Greece ; but he was thwarted by his enemies at 
home, and so he turned all his energies against his native 
State. His address made a powerful effect on the Lacedae- 
monians, who, impelled by hatred and jealousy, now resolved 
to make use of the services of the traitor, and send an 
auxiliary force to Syracuse. 

That city then consisted of two parts — an inner and an 
outer city. The outer city was defended on two sides by 
the sea, and a sea wall. On the land side a long situation of 
wall extended from the sea to the fortified high Syracuse. 
land of Achradina, so that the city could only be taken by a 
wall of circumvallation, so as to cut off supplies by land ; at 
the same time it was blockaded by sea. But the delay of 
Nicias had enabled the Syracusans to construct a new wall, 



198 The Peloponnesian War. [Chap.xiv. 

covering both the outer and inner city, and extending from 
the great port to the high land near the bay of Magnesi, so 
that any attack, except from a single point, was difficult, unless 
the wall of circumvallation was made much larger than was 
originally intended. Amid incredible difficulties the Atheni- 
ans constructed their works, and in an assault from the cliff 
of Epipolse, where they were intrenched, their general, Lam- 
achus, was slain. But the Athenians had gained an advan- 
tage, and the siege was being successfully prosecuted. It 
was then that the Lacedsemonians arrived under Gylippus, 
who was unable to render succor. But Nicias, despising 
him, allowed him to land at Himera, from whence he march- 
inaction of ed across Sicily to Syracuse. A Corinthian fleet, 
Nicias. under Gongylus, arrived only just in time to pre- 

vent the city from capitulating, and Gylippus entered Syra- 
cuse unopposed. The inaction of Nicias, who could have 
prevented this, is unaccountable. But the arrival of Gylip- 
pus turned the scale, and he immediately prosecuted vigorous 
and aggressive measures. He surprised an Athenian fort, 
and began to construct a third counter- wall on the north 
side of the Athenian circle. The Athenians, now shut up 
within their lines, were obliged to accept battle, and were 
defeated, and even forced to seek shelter within their fortified 
lines. Under this discouragement, Nicias sent to Athens 
for another armament, and the Athenians responded to 
his call. But Sparta also resolved to send re-enforcements, 
and invade Attica besides. Sicilian forces also marched in 
aid of Syracuse. The result of all these gathering forces, in 
which the whole strength of Greece was employed, was the 
total defeat of the Athenian fleet in the Great Harbor, in 
spite of the powerful fleet which had sailed from Athens 
Athenian under Demostlienes. The Syracusans pursued their 
by^the^Synv advantage by blocking up the harbor, and inclos- 
cusans. ^^^^ ^^^ whole Athenian fleet. The Athenians 

resolved then to force their way out, which led to another 
general engagement, in which the Athenians were totally 
defeated. Nicias once again attempted to force his way out, 



Chap. XIV.] Defeat of the Athenians, 199 

with the remainder of his defeated fleet, but the armament 
was too much discouraged to obey, and the Athenians sought 
to retreat by land. But all the roads were blockaded. The 
miserable army, nevertheless, began its hopeless march com- 
pletely demoralized, and compelled to abandon the sick and 
wounded. The retreating army was harassed on every 
side, no progress could be made, and the discouraged army 
sought in the night to retreat by a different route. Eetreat of 
The rear division, under Demosthenes, was over- ^^^^^^lans. 
taken and forced to surrender, and were carried captives to 
Syracuse — some six thousand in number. The next day, the 
first division, under Nicias, also was overtaken and niade pris- 
oners. No less than forty thousand who had started from the 
Athenian camp, six days before, were either killed or made 
prisoners, with the two generals who commanded them. 
The prisoners at first were subjected to the most cruel and 
inhuman treatment, and then sold as slaves. Both Nicias 
and Demosthenes were put to death, b. o. 413. 

Such was the disastrous close of the Sicilian expedition. 
Our limits prevent an extended notice. We can only give 
the barren outline. But never in Grecian history had so 
large a force been arrayed against a foreign power, and 
never was ruin more complete. The enterprise was started 
at the instance of Alcibiades. It was he who brought this 
disaster on his country. But it would have been better to 
have left the expedition to his management. Nicias was a 
lofty and rehgious man* but was no general. He grossly mis- 
manaared from first to last. The confidence of the Mismanage- 

^ ^ , rnent of 

Athenians was misplaced; and he, alter havmg Nicias. 
spent his hfe in inculcating a conservative policy, which was 
the wiser, yet became the unwilling instrument of untold 
and unparalleled calamities. His fault was over-confidence. 
He was personally brave, religious, incorruptible, munifi- 
cent, affable — in all respects honorable and respectable, but 
he had no military genius. 

The Lacedaemonians, at the suggestion of Alcibiades, had 
permanently occupied Decelea — a fortified post within fif- 



200 The Pelojyonnesian War, [Cuap, xiv. 

teen miles of Athens, and instead of spending a few weeks 
in ravaging Attica, now intrenched themselves, and issued 
out in excursions until they had destroyed all that was 
valuable in the neighborhood of Athens. The great calami- 
ties which the Athenians had suffered prevented them from 
expelling the invaders, and the city itself was now in the 
condition of a post besieged. All the accumulations in her 
Exhaustion t^^easury were exhausted, and she was compelled 
of Athens, ^q dismiss cveu her Thracian mercenaries. Thev 
were sent back to their own country under Diitrephes; but 
after inflicting great atrocities in Boeotia, were driven back 
by the Thebans. 

The Athenian navy was now so crippled that it could no 
TheAthe- longer maintain the supremacy of the sea. The 
h<?pfefesshr Corinthians were formidable rivals and enemies. 
crippled. ^ nnval battle at Naupactus, at the mouth of the 
Corinthian Gulf, between the Athenians and Corinthians, 
though indecisive, yet really was to the advantage of the 
latter. 

The full effects of the terrible catastrophe at Syracuse 
were not at first made known to the Athenians, but gradu- 
Effects of ^^^y ^ settled despair overspread the public mind. 
trou?expe- '^^^ Supremacy of Athens in Greece was at an end, 
against ^^^ ^^® ^^^J itself was endangered. The inhabit- 

Syracuse. g^^^g j^q^^ p^^ forth all the energies that a forlorn 
hope allowed. The distant garrisons were recalled ; all ex- 
penses were curtailed ; timber was collected for new ships, 
and Cape Sunium was fortified. But the enemies of Athens 
were also stimulated to renewed exertions, and subject-allies 
were induced to revolt. Persia sent envoys to Sparta. The 
Euboeans and Chians applied to the same power for aid in 
shaking off the yoke of Athens now broken and defenseless. 
Although a Peloponnesian fleet was defeated by the Athe- 
nians on its way to assist Chios in revolt, yet new dangers 
multiplied. Tiie infamous Alcibiades crossed with a squad- 
ron to Chios, and the Athenians were obliged to make use 
of their reserved fund of one thousand talents, which Peri- 



Chap. XIV.] Hevolution in Athens. 201 

cles had set aside for the last extremity, in order to equip a 
fleet, under the command of Strombichides. Alci- The Athe- 
biades passed over to Miletus, and induced this city p^fe^JIf*' 
also to revolt. A shameful treaty was made be- JJeh^,"!^ ^^ 
tvreen Sparta and Persia to carry on war against served fand. 
Athens; and the first step in the execution of the treaty was 
to hand Miletus over to a Persian general. Ionia now be- 
came the seat of war, and a victory was gained near Miletus 
by the Athenians, but this was balanced by the capture of 
lasus by the Lacedaemonians. The Athenians rallied at 
Samos, which remained faithful, and still controlled one hun- 
dred and twenty-eight triremes at this island. Alternate 
successes and defeats happened to the contending parties, 
with no decided result. 

The want of success on the coast of Asia led the Lacede- 
monians to suspect Alcibiades of treachery. Moreover, his 
intrigue with the wife of Agis made the king of Sparta his 
relentless enemy. Agis accordingly procured a decision of 
the ephors to send out instructions for his death. He was 
warned in time, and made his escape to the satrap Escape of 

r.T-» Alcibiades 

iissaphernes, who commanded the forces of Per- fromSparta. 
sia. He persuaded the Persian not to give a decisive supe-- 
riority to either of the contending parties, who followed his 
advice, and kept the Peloponnesian fleet inactive, and bribed 
the Spartan general. Having now gratified his revenge 
against Athens and lost the support of Sparta, Alcibiades 
now looked to his native country as the best field for his 
unprincipled ambition. " He opened negotiations with the 
Athenian commanders at Samos, and offered the alliance of 
Persia as the price of his restoration, but proposed as a 
further condition the overthrow of the democratic govern- 
ment at Athens." 

Then followed the political revolution which Alcibiades 
had planned, in conjunction with oligarchal conspirators. 
The rally of the city, threatened with complete Popular re- 

111 • T • 1 • -11 volution in 

rum, had been energetic and astonishing, and she Athens. 
was now, a year after the disaster at Syracuse, able to carry 



202 The Pelojponnesian War. [Chap. xiv. 

on a purely defensive system, though with crijtpled resources. 
But for this revolution Athens might have secured her inde- 
pendence. 

The proposal of Alcibiades to change the constitution was 
listened to by the rich men, on whom the chief burden of the 
war had fallen. With the treasures of Persia to help them, 
they hoped to carry on the war against Sparta without cost 
to themselves. It was hence resolved at Samos, among the 
Athenians congregated there, to send a deputation to Athens, 
under Pisander, to carry out their designs. But they had no 
Eestiess Other securitv than the word of Alcibiades, that 

schemes of "^ , , ' 

Alcibiades. restlcss and unpatriotic schemer, that they would 
secure the assistance of Persia. And it is astonishing that 
such a man — so faithless — could be believed. 

One of the generals of the fleet at Samos, Phrynichus, 
strongly opposed this movement, and gave good reasons ; 
but the tide of opinion among the oligarchal conspirators 
ran so violently against him, that Pisander was at once 
dispatched to Athens. He laid before the public assembly 
Jam prom- the tcrms which Alcibiades proposed. The people, 
Alcibiades. eager at any cost to gain the Persian king as an 
ally, in their extremity listened to the proposal, though 
unwilling, and voted to relinquish their political power. 
Pisander made them believe it was a choice between utter 
ruin and the relinquishment of political privileges, since the 
Lacedaemonians had an overwhelmiao; force asrainst them. It 
was while Chios seemed likely to be recovered by the Athe- 
nians, and while the Peloponnesian fleet was paralyzed at 
Rhodes by Persian intrigues, that Pisander returned to 
Aid invoked ^^^^^ ^^ opcu negotiations with Alcibiades andTis- 
from Persia, gaphemes. But Alcibiades had promised too much, 
the satrap having no idea of lending aid to Athens, and yet 
he extricated himself by such exaggerated demands, which 
he knew the Athenians would never concede to Persia, that 
negotiations were broken off, and a reconciliation was made 
between Persia and Sparta. The oligarchal conspirators 
had, however, gone so far that a retreat was impossible. 



Chap. Xiv.] Conduct of Alciliades. 203 

The democracy of Athens was now subverted. Instead of 
the Senate of Five Hundred and the assembled people, an 
oligarchy of Four Hundred sat in the Senate Anoii- 

^'(Xrcliv tit 

house, and all except five thousand were dis- Athens. 
franchised — and these were not convened. The oligarchy 
was in full power when Pisander returned to Athens. All 
democratic magistrates had been removed, and no civil func- 
tionaries were paid. The Four Hundred had complete control. 
Thus perished, through the intrigues of Alci blades, the demo- 
cracy of Athens. He had organized the unfortunate expedi- 
tion to Sicily ; he had served the bitterest enemies of his 
country; and now, he had succeeded in overturning the con- 
stitution which had lasted one hundred years, during which 
Athens had won all her glories. Why should the Athenians 
receive back to their confidence so bad a man ? But whom 
God wishes to destroy, he first makes mad, and Alcibiades, it 
would seem, was the instrument by which Athens was humil- 
iated and ruined as a political power. The revolution was 
efiected in an hour of despair, and by delusive AiciWades 

rr\^ 1 T T n 1 • cheats the 

promises. The character and conduct of the m- Athenians. 
sidious and unscrupulous intriguer were forgotten in his 
promises. The Athenians were simply cheated. 

The Four Hundred, installed in power, solemnized their 
installation by prayer and sacrifice, put to death some 
political enemies, imprisoned and banished others, and ruled 
with ffreat ri^or and strictness. They then sousrht Athens 

, ' T a ^ ' 1 tt'^t seeks peace 

to make peace with bparta, which was declined, wuhsparta. 
The army at Samos heard of these changes with exceeding 
wrath, especially the cruelties which were inflicted on all 
citizens who spoke against the new tyranny. A democratic 
demonstration took place at Samos, by which the Samians 
and the army were united in the strongest ties, for the 
Samians had successfully resisted a like revolution on their 
island. The army at Samos refused to obey any orders from 
the oligarchy, and constituted a democracy by unprinci- 
themselves. Yet the man who had been instrument- Suet of° 
al in creating this oligarchy, with characteristic 



204 The Pelojponnesian War, [Chap. xiv. 

versatility and impudence, joined the democracy at Saraos. 
He came to Samos by invitation of the armament, and 
pledged himself to secure Persian aid, and he was believed 
and again trusted. He then launched into a new career, 
and professed to take up again the interests of the democracy 
at Athens. The envoys of the Four Hundred which were 
sent to Samos were indignantly sent back, and the general 
indignation against the oligarchy was intensified. Envoys 
from Argos also appeared at Samos, oifering aid to the 
Athenian democracy. There was now a strong and organized 
resistance to the Four Hundred, and their own divisions 
placed them further in a precarious situation. Theramenes 
demanded that the Five Thousand, which body had been 
thus far nominal, should be made a reality. The Four 
Hundred again solicited aid from Sparta, and constructed a 
fort for the admission of a Spartan garrison, while a Lace- 
daemonian fleet hovered near the Pirgsus. 

The long-suppressed energies of the people at length burst 
forth. A body of soldiers seized the fortress the oligarchy 
were constructing for a Spartan garrison, and demolished it. 
Subversion The Four Hundred made imj)ortant concessions, and 
oligarchy, agreed to renew the public assembly. While these 
events occurred a naval battle took place near Eretria between 
the Lacedaemonians and the Athenians, in which the latter were 
defeated. The victory, if they had pushed their success, 
would have completed the ruin of Athens, since her home 
fleet was destroyed, and that at Samos was detained by 
Alcibiades. When it was seen the hostile fleet did not enter 
the harbor, the Athenians recovered their spirits and prose- 
cuted their domestic revolution by deposing the Four Hun- 
Restoration dred and placing; the whole government in the 

of the old r & . & ^ 

constitution, hands of the Five Thousand, and this body was 
soon enlarged to that of universal citizenship. The old con- 
stitution was restored, except that part of it w^hich allowed 
pay to the judges. Most of the oligarchal leaders fled, and 
a few of them were tried and executed — those who had sought 
Spartan aid. Thus this selfish movement terminated, after 



Chap. XIV.] Athenian Successes, 205 

the oligarchy had enjoyed a brief reign of only a few 
months. 

While Athens was distracted by changes of government, 
the war was conducted on the coasts of Asia between the 
belligerents with alternate success and defeat. Abydos, 
connected with Miletus by colonial ties, revolted from Athens, 
and Lampsacus, a neighboring town, followed its example 
two days afterward. Byzantium also went over Aiterncate 
to the Lacedaemonians, which enabled them to and failures 
command the strait. Alcibiades pursued still ligerents.' 
his double game with Persia and Athens. An Athenian fleet 
was sent to the Hellespont to contend with the Lacedtemonian 
squadron, and gained an incomplete victory at Cynossema, 
whose only effect was to encourage the Athenians. The 
Persians gave substantial aid to the Lacedaemonians, with- 
held for a time by the intrigues of Alcibiades, who returned 
to Samos, but was shortly after seized by Tissaphernes and 
sent to Sardis, from which he contrived to escape. He 
partially redeemed his infamy by a victory over the Pelo- 
ponnesian fleet at Cyzicus, and captured it entirely, which 
disaster induced the Spartans to make overtures of peace, 
which were rejected through the influence of Cleophon, the 
dema2:oo;ue. 

The Athenian fleet now reigned alone in the Propontis, the 
Bosphorus, and the Hellespont, and levied toll Revival of 
on all the ships passing through the straits, while ^f^th "^^^'^ 
Chrysopolis, opposite to Byzantium, was occupied Athenians. 
by Alcibiades. Athens now once more became hopeful and 
energetic. Thrasyllus was sent with a large force to Ionia, 
and joined his forces with the fleet which Alcibiades com- 
manded at Sestos, but the conjoined forces were unable to 
retake Abydos, which was relieved by Pharnabazus, the 
Persian satrap. 

The absence of the fleet from Athens encouraged the 
Lacedaemonians, who retook Pylus, b. c. 409, while cyrus sent 
the Athenians captured Chalcedon, and the fol- toPhrygia. 
lowing year Byzantium itself. Such was the state of the 



206 The Pelojponnesian War, [Chap. xi\. 

contending parties when Cyrus the younger was sent by 
his father Danus as satrap of Lydia, Phrygia, and Cappa- 
docia, and whose command in Asia Minor was attended 
by important consequences. Tissaphernes and Pharnabazus 
were still left in command of the coast. 

Cyrus, a man of great ambition and self-control, came to 
Asia Minor with a fixed purpose of putting dow^n the 
Athenian power, which for sixty years had humbled the 
pride of the Persian kings. He formed a hearty and cor- 
dial alliance with Lysander, the Spartan admiral, and 
the most eminent man, after Brasidas, whom the Lacedae- 
TJnion of mouiaus had produced during^ the war. He was a 

Cyrus with _ ^ ^ ,. f ,. -, . , 

Lysander. man 01 scvere bpartan disciplme and virtue, but 
ambitious and cruel. He visited Cyrus at Sardis, was 
welcomed with every mark of favor, and induced Cyrus to 
grant additional pay to every Spartan seaman. 

Meanwhile Alcibiades re-entered his native city in triumph, 
Eeturn of after eisfht years' exile, and was welcomed by all 

Alcibiades -ii ti-,/^. • 

to Athens, parties as the only man who had sufficient capacity 
to restore the fallen fortunes of Athens. His confiscated 
property was restored, and he was made captain-general with 
ample powers, while all his treasons were apparently forgotten, 
which had proved so fatal to his country — the sending of 
Gylippus to Syracuse, the revolt of Chios and Miletus, and 
the conspiracy of the Four Hundred. The efiect of 

His exploits. , . 

this treatment, so much better than what he 
deserved, intoxicated this wayward and unprincipled, but 
exceedingly able man. His first exploit was to sail to Andros, 
now under a Lacedaemonian garrison, whose fields he devas- 
tated, but was unable to take the town. He then went to 
Samos, and there learned that all his intrigues with Persia 
had failed, and that Persia was allied still more strongly 
with the Lacedaemonians under Lysander. 

This great general, now at Ephesus, pursued a cautious 
„. policy, and refused to ojive battle to the Athenian 

His reverses. 7. , . . ^^ 

lorces under Alcibiades, who then retired to Pho- 
caea, leaving his fleet under the command of Antiochus, hia 



Chap. XIV.] Battle of ArginuscB, 207 

favorite pilot. Antiochus, in the absence of his general, 
engaged the Lacedaemonian fleet, but was defeated and 
slain at Notiam. The conduct of Alcibiades produced great 
dissaifection at Athens. He had sailed with a fleet not 
inferior to that which he commanded at Syracuse, and had 
made great promises of future achievements, yet Lysander 
in three months he had not gained a single sue- Sparta. 
cess. He was therefore dismissed from his command, which 
was given to ten generals, of whom Conon was the most 
eminent, while he retired to the Chersonese. Lysander, at the 
same time, was superseded in the command of the Lacedae- 
monians by Callicratidas, in accordance with Spartan cus- 
tom, his term being expired. 

Callicratidas was not welcomed by Cyrus, and he was also 
left without funds bv Lvsander, who returned to ^. 

•^ •' ^ Vigorous 

the Persians the sums he had received. This con- measures of 

the Lacedae- 

duct so much enraged the Sp^-rtan admiral that he monians. 
sailed with his whole fleet— the largest which had been 
assembled during the war, one hundred and forty triremes, 
of which only ten were Lacedaemonian — the rest being fur- 
nished by allies — ^to Lesbos, and liberated the Athenian 
captives and garrison at Methymna, and seemed animated by 
that old Panhellenic patriotism which had united the Greeks 
half a centurv before as^ainst the Persian invaders, declarins: 
that not a single Greek should be reduced to slavery if he 
could help it. But while he was thus actuated by these 
noble sentiments, he also prosecuted the war of his country, 
which had been intrusted to him to conduct. He blocked 
up the Athenian fleet at Mitylene, which had no provisions 
to sustain a siege. The Athenians now made prodigious 
efforts to relieve Conon, and one hundred and ten triremes 
were sent from the Piraeus, and sailed to Samos. Callicra- 
tidas, apprised of the approach of the large fleet, went out 
to meet it. At Arginusae was fought a great The battle oi 
battle, in which the Spartan admiral was killed, ^""si^iisffi. 
and his forces comj^letely defeated. Sixty-nine Lacedae- 
monian ships were destroyed ; the Athenians lost twenty- 



208 The Peloponnehian War, [Chap. xiv. 

five, a severe loss to Greece, since, if Callicratidas had gained 
the victory, he would, according to Grote, have closed the 
Peloponnesian war, and united the Greeks once more against 
Persia. 

The battle of Arginusae now gave the Athenians the con- 
trol of the Asiatic seas, and so discouraged were the "Lace- 
daemonians, that they were induced to make proposals of 
peace. This is doubted, indeed, by Grote, since no positive 
results accrued to Athens. 

The Chians and other allies of Sparta, in conjunction with 
Lysander Cvrus, now Sent cnvovs to the ephors, to request 

returns to "^ ' . "^ i ? i 

power. the restoration of Lysander to the command of 

the fleet. They acceded to the request substantially, and 
Lysander reached Ej^hesus, b. c. 405, to renovate the Lace- 
daemonian power and turn the fortunes of war. 

The victorious Athenian fleet was now at ^gospotami, in 
the Hellespont, opposite Lampsacus, having been , inactive 
for nearly a year. There the fleet was exposed to imminent 
danger, which was even seen by Alcibiades, in his fc^rts op- 
posite, on the Chersonese. He expostulated with the Athenian 
admirals, but to no purpose, and urged them to retire to 
Capture of Scstos. As he feared, the Athenian fleet was sur- 

the Atkeni- . i -i i 

an fleet. pnscd, at auchor, on this open shore, while the 
crews were on shore in quest of a meal. One hundred and 
seventy triremes were thus ingloriously captured, without 
the loss of a man — the greatest calamity which had hap- 
pened to Athens since the beginning of the war, and 
decisive as to its result. The captive generals were 
slaughtered, together with four thousand Athenian prisoners. 
Conon, however, made his escape. So disgraceful and un- 
necessary was this great calamity, that it is supposed the 
fleet was betrayed by its own commanders ; and this sup- 
position is strengthened by its inactivity since the battle of 
Arginusae. This crowning disaster happened in September, 
Despair of S- c. 405, and causcd a dismay at Athens such as 
Athena. j^^^ ncvcr before been felt — not even when the 
Persians were marching through Attica. Nothing was now 



Chap. XIV.] Humiliation of Athens, 209 

left to the miserable city but to make what preparation it 
could for the siege, which everybody foresaw would soon take 
place. The walls were put in the best defense it was pos- 
sible, and tTvo of the three ports were blocked up. Kot 
only was Athens deprived of her maritime power, but her 
very existence was now jeopardized. 

Lysander was in no haste to march upon Athens, since he 
knew that no corn ships could reach the city from the 
Euxine, and that a famine would soon set in. The Athe- 
nian empire was annihilated, and nothing remained ^ ., ., 
but Athens herself The Athenians now saw that *.'"" ^^. ^^^ 

Atheman 

nothing but union between the citizens could give empire. 
them any hope of success, and they made a solemn pledge 
in the Acropolis to bury their dissensions and cultivate har- 
monious feelino-s. 

In November, Lysander, with two hundred triremes, 
blockaded the Piraeus. The whole force of Sparta, under 
King Pausanias, went out to meet him, and encamped at the 
gates of Athens. The citizens bore the calamity with forti- 
tude, and, when they began to die of hunger, sent proposi- 
tions for capitulation. But no proposition was received 
which did not include the demolition of the long walls which 
Pericles had built. As famine pressed, and the condition of 
the people had become intolerable, Athens was obliged to 
surrender on the hard conditions that the Pirssus Surrender of 
should be destroyed, the long walls demolished, the Spartans, 
all foreign possessions evacuated, all ships surrendered, and, 
most humiliating of all, that Athens should become the ally 
of Sparta, and follow her lead upon the sea and upon the 
land. 

Thus fell imperial Athens, after ' a glorious reign of one 

hundred years. Lysander entered the city as a conqueror. 

The ships were surrendered, all but twelve, which y^te of 

the Athenians were allowed to retain ; the unfin- '^^^®°^- 

ished ships in the dockyards were burned, the fortifications 

demolished, and the Piraeus dismantled. The constitution of 

the city was annulled, and a board of thirty was nominated, 
14 



210 The Peloponnesian War. [Chap. xiv. 

under the dictation of Lysander, for the government of the 
city. The conqueror then sailed to Samos, which was easily 
reduced, and oligarchy was restored on that island, as at 
Athens. 

The fall of Athens virtually closed the Peloponnesian war, 
after a bitter struo-ojle between the two leadins: States of 
cio^e of the Greece for thirty years. Lysander became the 
^^^' leading man in Greece, and wielded a power great- 

er than any individual Greek before or after him. Sparta, 
personified in him, became supreme, and ruled over all the 
islands, and over the Asiatic and Thracian cities. The 
tyrants whom he placed over Athens exercised their power 
with extreme rigor — sending to execution all who were obnox- 
ious, seizing as spoil the property of the citizens, and disarm- 
ing the remaining hoplites in the city. They even forbade 
intellectual teaching, and shut the mouth of Socrates. Such 
was Athens, humbled, deprived of her fleet, and rendered 
powerless, with a Spartan garrison occupying the Acropolis, 
and discord reigning even among the Thirty Tyrants them- 
selves. 

In considering the downfall of Athens, we perceive that 
the unfortunate Sicilian expedition which Alcibiades had 
stimulated proved the main cause. Her maritime suprem- 
Cause of the acv micrht havc been maintained but for this asf- 

foil nf •/ O C3 

Athens. grcssion, which Pericles never would have sanc- 
tioned, and which Nicias so earnestly disapproved. After 
that disaster, the conditions of the State were totally changed, 
and it was a bitter and desperate struggle to retain the frag- 
ments of empire. And the catastrophe proved, ultimately, 
the political ruin of Greece herself, since there was left no 
one State sufficiently powerful to resist foreign attacks. The 
glory of Athens was her navy, and this being destroyed, 
Greece was open to invasion, and to the corruption brought 
about by Persian gold. It was Athens which had resisted 
Persia, and protected the maritime States and islands. When 
Athens was crippled, the decline of the other States was rapid, 
for they had all exhausted themselves in the war. And the 



Chap, xiv.l Death of Alcibiades. 211 

war itself has few redeeming features. It was a wicked con- 
test carried on by rivalry and jealousy. And it pro- Miserable 

T -I n 1 ^ ty ' ' Ejiirit of tho 

duced, as war generally does, a class oi unprinci- AViir. 
pled men who aggrandize themselves at the expense of their 
country. Nothing but war would have developed such men 
as Alcibiades and Lysander, and it is difficult to say which 
of the two brought the greatest dishonor on their respective 
States. Both were ambitious, and both hoped to gain an 
ascendency incompatible with free institutions. To my 
mind, Alcibiades is the worst man in Grecian history, and 
not only personally disgraced by the worst vices, but his 
influence was disastrous on his country. Athens owed her 
political deojradation more to him than any other AidWades 

TT . 1 1 1 T the evil geni- 

man. lie was msolent, lawless, extravagant, and us of Athens. 
unscrupulous, from his first appearance in public life. He 
incited the Sicilian expedition, and caused it to end disas- 
trously by sending Gylippus to Syracuse. He originated the 
revolt of Chios and Miletus, the fortification of Decelea, and 
the conspiracy of the Four Hundred. And though he par- 
tially redeemed his treason by his three years' services, after 
his exile, yet his vanity, and intrigues, and prodigality pre- 
vented him from accomplishing what he promised. It is 
true he was a man of great resources, and was never defeated 
either by sea or land ; " and he was the first man in every 
party he espoused — Athenian, Spartan, or Persian, oligarchal 
or democratical, but he never inspired confidence with any 
party, and all parties successively threw him off." The end 
of such a man proclaims the avenging Nemesis in Hisingiori- 
this world. He died by the hands of Persian assas- ^^^ ^^^^^' 
sins, at the instance of both Lysander and Cyrus, who felt that 
there could be nothing settled so long as this restless schemer 
lived. And he died, unlamented and unhonored, in spite of 
his high birth, wealth, talents, and personal accomplishments. 
Lysander was more fortunate ; he gained a great ascend- 
ency in Sparta, but his ambition proved ruinous Glory of Ly- 
to his country, by involving it in those desperate ^*" ®^* 
wars which are yet to be presented. 



CHAPTER XV. 



MARCH OF CYKUS AND RETREAT OF THE TEN THOUSAND 

GREEKS. 

The Peloponnesian war being closed, a large body of 
Effect of Grecian soldiers were disbanded, but rendered 

the Pelopon- ^ -i ^ t ^ • 11 

nesian war. vcnal and Tcstless by the excitements and changes 
of the past thirty years, and ready to embark in any warlike 
enterprise that promised money and spoil. They were un- 
fitted, as is usually the case, for sober and industrial pur- 
suits. They panted for fresh adventures. 

This restless passion which war ever kindles, found vent 

real ^^^^ direction in the enterprise which Cyrus led 

ends of from Western Asia to dethrone his brother Arta- 

Cyrus dis- 
guised, xerxes from the throne of Persia. Some fourteen 

thousand Greeks from diiferent States joined his standard — 
not with a view of a march to Babylon and an attack on the 
great king, but to conquer and root out the Pisidian moun- 
taineers, who did much mischief from their fastnesses in the 
southeast of Asia Minor. This was the ostensible object of 
Cyrus, and he found no difficulty in enlisting Grecian mer- 
cenaries, under promise of large rewards. All these Greeks 
were deceived but one man, to whom alone Cyrus revealed 
his real purpose. This was Clearchus, a Lacedaemonian 
general of considerable ability and experience, who had been 
banished for abuse of authority at Byzantium, which he 
commanded. He repaired to Sardis and offered his services 
to Cyrus, who had been sent thither by his father Darius to 
command the Persian forces. Cyrus accepted the overtures 
of Clearchus, who secured his confidence so completely that 



Chap. XV.] Cyriis, 213 

he gave him the large sum of ten thousand darics, which 
he employed in hiaing Grecian mercenaries. 

Other Greeks of note also joined the army of Cyrus with 
a view of beins; employed asfainst the Pisidians. Mercenary 

* ■ ■> A • • ^ ^if P Greeks enlist 

Among them were Aristippus and Menon, oi a under Cyrus. 
distinguished family in Thessaly ; Proxenus, a Boeotian; 
Agis, an Arcadian ; Socrates, an Achaean, who were employed 
to collect mercenaries, and who received large sums of 
money. A considerable body of Lacedaemonians were also 
taken under pay. 

The march of these men to Babylon, and their successful 
retreat, form one of the most interesting episodes in Grecian 
history, and it is this march and retreat which I purpose 
briefly to present. t.jwi^i 

Cyrus was an extraordinary man. The younger son of 
the Persian king, he aimed to secure the sover- character of 
eignty of Persia, which fell to his elder brother, ^yrus. 
Artaxerxes, on the death of Darius. During his residence 
at Sardis, as satrap or governor, he perceived and felt the 
great superiority of the Greeks to his own countrymen, not 
only intellectually, but as soldiers. He was brave, generous, 
frank, and ambitious. Had it been his fortune^ to have 
achieved the object of his ambition, the whole history of 
Persia would have been changed, and Alexander High esti- 
would have lived in vain. Perceiving and appre- which he 
elating the great qualities of the Greeks, and Greeks. 
learning how to influence them, he sought, by their aid, to 
conquer his way to the throne. 

But he dissembled his designs so that they were not sus- 
pected, even in Persia. As has been remarked, he He dis- 
communicated them only to the Spartan general, designs. 
Clearchus. Il^either Greek nor Persian divined his object 
as he collected a great army at Sardis. At first he employed 
his forces in the siege of Miletus and other enterprises, which 
provoked no suspicion of his real designs. 

When all was ready, he commenced his march from Sardis, 
in March, b. c. 401, with about eight thousand Grecian 



214 Heir eat of the Ten Thousand, [Chap. XV. 

hoplites and one hundred thousand native troops, while a 
He com- joint Lacedsemoniau and Persian fleet coasted 
march. * around the south of Asia Minor to co-operate with 
the land forces. 

These Greeks who thus joined his standard under promise 
Character of large pay, and were unwittingly about to plunge 
Gret^kswho iuto unkuowu pcrils, wcrc not outcasts and 
iSard!* paupers, but were men of position, reputation, and, 
in some cases, of wealth. About half of them were Arca- 
dians. Young men of good family, ennuied of home, rest- 
less and adventurous, formed the greater part, although 
many of mature age had been induced by liberal offers to 
leave their wives and children. They simply calculated on 
a year's campaign in Pisidia, from which they would return 
to their homes enriched. So they were assured by the 
Greek commanders at Sardis, and so these commanders be- 
lieved, for Cyrus stood high in popular estimation for liber- 
ality and good faith. 

Among other illustrious Greeks that were thus to be led 

so far from home was Xenophon, the Athenian 

historian, who was induced by his friend Proxe- 

nus, of Boeotia, to join the expedition. He was of high 

family, and a pupil of Socrates, but embarked against the 

wishes and advice of his teacher. 

When the siege of Miletus was abandoned, and Cyrus 
began his march, his object was divined by the satrap Tissa- 
phernes, who hastened to Persia to put the king on his 
guard. 

At Celense, or Kelsenje, a Phrygian city, Cyrus halted and 
Cjrus re- reviewed his army. Grecian re-enforcements here 

Views liis 

army. joined him, which swelled the number of Greeks 

to thirteen thousand men, of whom eleven thousand were 
hoplites. As this city was on the way to Pisidia, no mistrust 
existed as to the object of the expedition, not even when the 
army passed into Lycaonia, since its inhabitants were of the 
same predatory character as the Pisidians. But when it had 
crossed Mount Taurus, which bounded Cilicia, and reached 



ChapXV.j Cyrus' March. 216 

Tarsus, the Greeks perceived that they had been cheated, and 
refused to advance farther. Clearchus attempted '^^^ Greeks 

■■• perceive 

to suppress the mutiny by severe measures, t^at they 

' J^ >' '' ' nave been 

but failed. He then resorted to stratagem, and deceived. 
pretended to yield to the wishes of the Greeks, and likewise 
refused to march, but sent a secret dispatch to Cyrus that 
all would be well in the end, and requested him to send fresh 
invitations, that he might answer by fresh refusals. He 
then, with the characteristic cunning and eloquence of a 
Greek, made known to his countrymen the extreme peril of 
making Cyrus their enemy in a hostile country, where 
retreat was beset with so many dangers, and induced them 
to proceed. So the army continued its march to Issus, at the 
extremity of the Issican Gulf, and near the mountains which 
separate Cilicia from Syria. Here Cyrus was further re-en- 
forced, making the grand total of Greeks in his army four- 
teen thousand. 

He expected to find the passes over the mountains, a day's 
journey from Issus, defended, but the Persian Cyrus 

crossGS Intio 

general Abrocomas fled at his approach, and Cyrus Syria. 
easily crossed into Syria by the pass of Beilan, over Mount 
Amanus. He then proceeded south to Myriandus, a Phoeni- 
cian maritime town, where he parted from his fleet. Eight 
days' march brought his army to Thapsacus, on the Euphrates, 
where he remained five days to refresh his troops. Here 
again the Greeks showed a reluctance to proceed, but, on 
the promise of five minse a head, nearly one hundred dollars 
more than a year's pay, they consented to advance. It was 
here Cyrus crossed the river unobstructed, and He crosses 

. , ' the 

continued his march on the left bank for nine days, Euphrates. 
until he came to the river Araxes, which separates Syria 
from Arabia. Thus far his army was well supplied with 
provisions from the numerous villages through which they 
passed ; but now he entered a desert country, entirely with- 
out cultivation, where the astonished Greeks beheld for the 
first time wild asses, antelopes, and ostriches. For eighteen 
days the army marched without other provisions than what 



216 Hetreat of the Ten Thousand. [Chap. XV. 

they brought with them, parched with thirst and exhausted 
by heat. At Pylse they reached the cultivated territory of 
Babylonia, and the alluvial plains commenced. Three days' 
further march brought them to Gunaxa, about seventy miles 
Battle of from Babylou, where the army of Artaxerxes was 
Cunaxa. marshaled to meet them. It was an immense 
force of more than a million of men, besides six thousand 
horse-guards and two hundred chariots. But so confident 
was Cyrus of the vast superiority of the Greeks and their 
warfare, that he did not hesitate to engage the overwhelming 
forces of his brother with only ten thousand Greeks and one 
hundred thousand Asiatics. The battle of Cunaxa was 
fatal to Cyrus ; he was slain and his camp was pillaged. The 
expedition had failed. 

Dismay now seized the Greeks, as well it might — a hand- 
Dismay of f^^l of men in the midst of innumerable enemies, 
the Greeks. ^^^ '^^ ^^ very Centre of the Persian empire. But 
such men are not driven to despair. They refused to sur- 
They render, and made up their minds to retreat — to 

retreat. g^^^ their Way back again to Greece, since all 

aggressive measures was madness. 

This retreat, amid so many difficulties, and against such 
powerful and numerous enemies, is one of the most gallant 
actions in the history of war, and has made those ten thou- 
sand men immortal. 

Ariseus, who commanded the Asiatic forces on the left 
wing of the army at the battle of Cunaxa, joined the Greeks 
with what force remained, in retreat, and promised to guide 
them to the Asiatic coast, not by the route which Cyrus had 
taken, for this was now impracticable, but by a longer one, 
up the course of the Tigris, through Armenia, to the Euxine 
Sea. The Greeks had marched ninety days from Sardis, 
about fourteen hundred and sixty-four English miles, and 
rested ninety-six days in various places. Six months had 
been spent on the expedition, and it would take more than 
that time to return, considering the new difficulties which it 
was necessary to surmount. The condition of the Greeks, 



Chap. XV.] Dissimulation of the Persians, 217 

to all appearance, was hopeless. How were they to ford rivers 
and cross mountains, with a hostile cavalry in Their 
their rear, without supplies, without a knowledge condition. 
of roads, without trustworthy guides, through hostile terri- 
tories ? 

The Persians still continued their neo-otiations, reo^ardins: 
the advance or retreat of the Greeks alike irapos- Deceitful 
sible, and curious to learn what motives had of~th?'^^^°° 
brought them so far from home. They replied ^^^'^"^^^'^s- 
that they had been deceived, that they had no hostility to 
the Persian king, that they had been ashamed to desert 
Cyrus in the midst of danger, and that they now desired 
only to return home peaceably, but were prepared to repel 
hostilities. 

It was not pleasant to the Persian monarch to have thir- 
teen thousand Grecian veterans, whose prestige r^h^ Persian 
was immense, and whose power was really formida- tilefr over** 
ble, in the heart of the kingdoni. It was not easy t'^''"^^- 
to conquer such brave men, reduced to desperation, without 
immense losses and probable humiliation. So the Persians 
dissembled. It was their object to get the Greeks 
out of Babylonia, where they could easily intrench and 
support themselves, and then attack them at a disad- 
vantage. So Tissaphernes agreed to conduct them home 
by a different route. They acceded to his proposal, 
and he led them to the banks of the Tigris, and advanced 
on its left bank, north to the Great Zab River, about 
two hundred miles from Babylon. The Persians marched in 
advance, and the Greeks about three miles in the rear. At 
the Great Zab they halted three days, and then Tissaphernes 
enticed the Greek generals to his tent, ostensibly to feast 
them and renew negotiations. There they were seized, sent 
prisoners to the Persian court, and treacherously murdered. 

Utter despair now seized the Greeks. They were deprived 
of their generals, in the heart of Media, with un- The despair 

1 ' ... T , .of the 

scrupulous enemies m the rear, and the mountains Greeks. 
of Armenia in their front, whose passes were defended 



218 Retreat of the Ten Thousand. [Chap. XV. 

by hostile barbarians, and this in the depth of winter, 
deprived of guides, and exposed to every kind of hardship, 
difficulty, and danger. They were apparently in the hands 
of their enemies, without any probability of escape. They 
were then summoned to surrender to the Persians, bnt they 
resolved to fight their way home, great as were their dangers 
and insurmountable the difficulties — a most heroic resolu- 
tion. And their retreat, under these circumstances, to the 
Euxine, is the most extraordinary march in the whole history 
of war. 

But a great man appeared, in this crisis, to lead them, 
whose prudence, sagacity, moderation, and courage can 
Xenophon ncvcr be sufficiently praised, and his successful re- 

rallies the j i- ' 

Greeks, treat placcs him in the ranks of the great generals 
of the world. Xenophon, the Athenian historian, now 
appears upon the stage with all those noble qualities which 
inspired the heroes at the siege of Troy — a man as religious as 
he was brave and magnanimous, and eloquent even for a 
Greek. He summoned together the captains, and persuaded 
them to advance, giving the assurance of the protection of 
Zeus. He then convened the army, and inspired them by 
his spirit, with surpassing eloquence, and acquired the as- 
cendency of a Moses by his genius, piety, and wisdom. His 
military rank was not great, but in such an emergency 
talents and virtues have more force than rank. 

So, under his leadership, the Greeks crossed the Zab, and 
resumed their march to the north, harassed by Persian 
Their re- cavalrv, and subjected to srreat privations. The 

treat to the o ir 

Tigris. army no longer marched, as was usual, in one un- 

divided hollow square, but in small companies, for they were 
obliged to cross mountains and ford rivers. So long as they 
marched on the banks of the Tigris, they found well-stocked 
villages, from which they obtained supplies; but as they 
entered the country of the Carducians, they were obliged to 
leave the Tigris to their left, and cross the high mountains 
which divided it from Armenia. They were also compelled 
to burn their baggage, for the roads wei*e nearly impassable, 



Ghap. XV.] March through Armenia, 219 

not only on account of the narrow defiles, but from the vast 
quantities of snow which fell. Their situation was Their perils 
luli 01 peril, and latigue, and privation, btiil they ships. 
persevered, animated by the example and eloquence of 
their intrepid leader. At every new pass they were obliged 
to fight a battle, but the enemies they encountered could not 
withstand their arms in close combat, and usually fled, con- 
tented to harass them by rolling stones down the mountains 
on their heads, and discharoing: their Ions; arrows. 

The march through Armenia was still more difficult, for 
the inhabitants were more warlike and hardy, and The march 

. ,.„-„,,- , through 

the passage more dimcult. ihey also were sorely Armenia. 
troubled for lack of guides. The sufferings of the Greeks 
were intense from cold and privation. The beasts of burden 
perished in the snow, while the soldiers were frost-bitten and 
famished. It was their good fortune to find villages, after 
several days' march, where they halted and rested, but 
assailed all the while by hostile bands. Yet onward they 
pressed, wearied and hungry, through the country of the 
Taochi, of the Chalybes, of the Scytheni, of the r^^ ^^^^^ 
Marones, of the Colchians, and reached Trapezus *^** i^uxine. 
(Trebizond) in safety. The sight of the sea filled the Greeks 
with indescribable joy after so many perils, for the sea was 
their own element, and they could now pursue their way in 
ships rather than by perilous marches. 

But the delays were long and dreary. There were no ships 
to transport the warriors to Byzantium. They New 

1 , T 1 /» 1 . T /v. troubles and 

were exposed to new troubles irom the indifference dangers. 
or hostility of the cities on the Euxine, for so large a force 
created alarm. "And when the most pressing dangers were 
passed, tlie license of the men broke out, so that it was diffi- 
cult to preserve order and prevent them from robbing their 
friends. They were obliged to resort to marauding expedi- 
tions among the Asiatic people, and it was difficult to sup- 
port themselves. Not being able to get ships, they marched 
along the coast to Cotyora, exposed to incessant hostilities. 
It was now the desire of Xenophon to found a new city on 



220 Betreat of the Ten Thousands [Chap. xv. 

the Euxine with the army ; but the army was eager to re- 
turn home, and did not accede to the proposal. Clamors arose 
against the general who had led them so gloriously from the 
heart of Media, and his speeches in his defense are among 
the most eloquent on Grecian record. He remonstrated 
against the disorders of the army, and had sufficient influence 
to secure reform, and completely triumphed over faction as 
he had over danger. 

At last ships were provided, and the army passed by sea 
They pass to Sinopc — a Grecian colony — where the men 
Sinope. wcrc hospitably received, and fed, and lodged. 

From thence the army passed by sea to Heracleia, where 
the soldiers sought to extort money against the opposition 
of Xenophon and Cherisophus, the latter of whom had nobly 
seconded the plans of Xenophon, although a Spartan of 
superior military rank. The army, at this opposition, divid- 
ed into three factions, but on suffering new disasters, re- 
united. It made a halt at Calpe, where new disorders broke 
out. Then Oleander, Spartan governor of Byzantium, 
arrived with two triremes, who promised to conduct the 
army, and took command of it, but subsequently threw up his 
command from the unpropitious sacrifices. Nothing proved 
Their the religious character of the Greeks so forcibly 

faith? as their scrupulous attention to the rites imposed 

by their pagan faith. They undertook no enterprise of iih- 
port-ince without sacrifices to the gods, and if the auguries 
were unfavorable, they relinquished their most cherished 
objects. 

From Calpe the army marched to Chalcedon, turning into 
money the slaves and plunder which it had collected. There 
it remained seven days. But nothing could be done with- 
out the consent of the Spartan admiral at Byzantium, Anaxi- 
bius, since the Lacedsemonians were the masters of Greece 
both by sea and land. This man was bribed by the Persian 
They reach satrap Phamabazus, who commanded the north- 
Byzantium. ^j^estem rcgiou of Asia Minor, to transport the 
army to the European side of the Bosphorus. It accordingly 



Chap. XV.] Lasting Impression of the Retreat. 221 

crossed to Byzantium, but was not allowed to halt in the 
city, or even to enter the gates. 

The wrath of the soldiers was boundless when they were 
thus excluded from Byzantium. They rushed into j3„t ^^.^ 
the town and took possession, which conduct ?ro*;ij^the 
gave grave apprehension to Xenophon, who ^^'^^' 
mustered and harangued the army, and thus prevented 
anticipated violence. They at length consented to leave the 
^ity, and accepted the services of the Theban Coeratidas, who 
promised to conduct them to the Delta of Thrace, for pur- 
poses of plunder, but he was soon dismissed. After various 
misfortunes the soldiers at length were taken under the pay 
of Seuthes, a Thracian prince, who sought the recovery of 
his principality, but who cheated them out of their pay. A 
change of policy among the Lacedaemonians led to the con- 
veyance of the Cyrenian army into Asia in order to make 
war on the satraps. Xenophon accordingly conducted his 
troops, now reduced to six thousand men, over Mount Ida 
to Pergamus. He succeeded in capturing the Persian general 
Asidates, and securing a valuable booty, b. c. 399. The 
soldiers whom he had led were now incorporated .p^g^ ^^y^&x 
with the Lacedaemonian army in Asia, and Xeno- gg/yj^e of 
phon himself enlisted in the Spartan service. His spa^ta. 
subsequent fortunes we have not room to present. An exile 
from Athens, he settled in Scillus, near Glympia, with 
abundant wealth, but ultimately returned to his native city 
after the battle of Leuctra. -^ 

The impression produced on the Grecian mind by the 
successful retreat of the Ten Thousand was pro- Moral effect 

^ of the 

found and lastino;. Its most obvious effect was to expedUion. 
produce contempt for Persian armies and Persian generals, 
and to show that Persia was only strong by employing 
Hellenic streng^th ao;ainst the Hellenic cause. The real 
weakness of Persia was thus revealed to the Greeks, and 
sentiments were fostered which two generations afterward 
led to the expeditions of Alexander and the subjection of 
Asia to Grecian rule. 



CHAPTER XYI. 



THE LACEDEMONIAN EJVIPIKE. 



I HAVE already shown that Sparta, after a battle with the 
Sparta Argives, B. c. 547, obtained the ascendency in the 

her power, southcrn part of the Peloponnesus, and became 
the leading military State of Greece. This i^restige and 
power were not lost. The severe simplicity of Spartan life, 
the rigor of political and social institutions, the aristocratic 
form of government, and above all the military spirit and 
ambition, gave permanence to all conquests, so that in the 
Persian wars Sparta took the lead of the land forces. The 
great rival power of Sparta was Athens, but this was founded 
on maritime skill and enterprise. It was to the navy of 
Athens, next after the hoplites of Sparta, that the successful 
resistance to the empire of Persia may be attributed. 

After the Persian wars the rivalship between Athens and 
Continued Sparta is the most prominent feature in Grecian 

glory of . 

Athens also, history. The confederacy of Delos gave to Athens 
supremacy over the sea, and the great commercial prosperity 
of Athens under Pericles, and the empire gained over the 
Ionian colonies and the islands of the ^ggean, made Athens, 
perhaps, the leading State. It was the richest, the most 
cultivated, and the most influential of the Grecian States, 
and threatened to absorb gradually all the other States of 
Greece in her empire. 

This ascendency and rapid growth in wealth and power 
were beheld with jealous eyes, not only by Sparta, but other 
States which she conti'olled, or with which she was in alliance. 
The consequence was, the Peloponnesian war, which lasted 



Chap, xyl] Pre-eminence of Sj>arta. 223 

half a generation, and which, after various vicissitudes and 
fortunes, terminated auspiciously for Sparta, but ^^^^ 
disastrously to Greece as a united nation. The Quencfs of 

, *' the Pelopon- 

Persian wars bound all the States together by a "®^'^" ^^'^''• 
powerful Hellenic sentiment of patriotism. The Pelopon- 
nesian war dissevered this Panhellenic tie. The disaster at 
Syracuse was fatal to Athenian supremacy, and even inde- 
pendence. But for this Athens might have remained the 
great power of Greece. The democratic organization of the 
government gave great vigor and enterprise to all the ambi- 
tious projects of Athens. If Alcibiades had lent his vast 
talents to the building up of his native State, even then 
the fortunes of Athens might have been different. But he 
was a traitor, and threw all his energies on the side of 
Sparta, until it was too late for Athens to recover the pres- 
tige she had won. He partially redeemed his honor, but 
had he been animated by the spirit of Pericles or Nicias, to 
say nothing of the self-devotion of Miltiades, he might have 
raised the power of Athens to a height which nothing could 
have resisted. 

Lysander completed the war which Brasidas had so nobly 
carried on, and took possession of Athens, abolished the 
democratic constitution, demolished the walls, and set up, 
as his creatures, a set of tyrants, and also a Spartan gov- 
ernor in Athens. Under Lysander, the Lacedaemo- Paratnoant 

, • /-^ k • aiithority of 

man rule was paramount m Greece. At one time, Spurta after 

ITT ,1 • /-, the victories 

he had more power than any man m Greece ever of Lysander. 
enjoyed. He undertook to change the government of the 
allied cities, and there was scarcely a city in Greece where 
the Spartans had not the ascendency. In most of the Ionian 
cities, and in all the cities which had taken the side of Athens, 
there was a Spartan governor, so that when Xenophon 
returned with his Ten Thousand to Asia Minor, he found he 
could do nothing without the consent of the Spartan govern- 
ors. Moreover, the rule of Sparta was hostile to all demo- 
cratic governments. She sought to establish oligarchal insti- 
tutions everywhere. Perhaps this difference between Athens 



224 The Zacedoemo7iian Emjpire, [Chap. xvj. 

and Sparta respecting government was one great cause of 
the Peloponnesian war. 

But the same envy which had once existed among the 
Sparta iu- Grecian States of the prosperity of Athens, was 
jeafousy of ^^^ turned upon Sparta. Her rule was arrogant 
Greece. ^^^ hard, and she in turn had to experience the 
humiliation of revolt from her domination. " The allies of 
Sparta," says Grote, " especially Corinth and Thebes, not only 
relented in their hatred of Athens, now she had lost her 
power, but e\'en sympathized with her suffering exiles, and 
became disgusted with the self-willed encroachments of 
Sparta ; while the Spartan king, Pausanias, together with 
some of the ephors, were also jealous of the arbitrary and 
oppressive conduct of Lysander. He refused to jDrevent the 
revival of the democracy. It was in this manner that Athens, 
rescued from that sanguinary and rapacious regime of the 
Thirty Tyrants, was enabled to reappear as a humble and 
dependent member of the Spartan alliance — with nothing 
but the recollection of her former power, yet with her de- 
mocracy again in vigorous action for internal government. 

The victory of ^gospotami, Avhich anniliilated the Athe- 
nian navy, ushered in the supremacy of Sparta, both on the 
Her oppres- land and sea, and all Greece made submission to the 

Bive superi- . 

ority. ascendant power. Lysander established m most 

of the cities an oligarchy of ten, citizens, as well as a Spartan 
harmost, or governor. Everywhere the Lysandrian dekarchy 
superseded the previous governments, and ruled oppressively, 
like the Thirty at Athens, with Critias at their head. And 
no justice could be obtained at Sparta against the bad con- 
duct of the harmosts who now domineered in every city. 
Sparta had embroiled Greece in war to put down the ascen- 
dency of Athens, but exercised a more tyrannical usurpation 
than Athens ever meditated. The language of Brasidas, 
who promised everything, was in striking contrast to the 
conduct of Lysander, who put his foot on the neck of Greece. 
The rule of the Thirty at Athens came to an end by the 
noble efforts of Thrasybulus and the Athenian democracy, 



Chap. XVI.] War with Persia. 225 

and thQ old constitution was restored because the Sj)artan 
king was disgusted with the usurpations and arrogance of 
Lysander, and forbore to interfere. Had Sparta Eflpect of the 
been wise, with this vast accession of power gain- p^Jucy o?^ 
ed by the victories of Lysander, she would have ^t^^'^t^- 
ruled moderately, and reorganized the Grecian world on 
sound principles, and restored a Panhellenic stability and 
harmony. She might not have restored, as Brasidas had 
promised, a universal autonomy, or the complete independ- 
ence of all the cities, but would have bound together all the 
States under her presidency, by a just and moderate rule. 
But Sparta had not this wisdom. She was narrow, hard, 
and extortionate. She loved her own, as selfish people gen- 
erally do, but nothing outside her territory with any true 
magnanimity. And she thus provoked her allies into rebel- 
lion, so that her chance was lost, and her dominion short- 
lived. Athens would have been more enlightened, but she 
never had the power, as Sparta had, of organizing a general 
Panhellenic combination. The nearest approach which 
Athens ever made was the confederacy of Delos, which 
did not work well, from the jealousy of the cities. But 
Sparta soon made herself more unpopular than Athens ever 
was, and her dream of empire was short. 

The first great movement of Sparta, after the establish- 
ment of oligarchy in all the cities which yielded to her, was 
a renewal of the war with Persia. The Asiatic Renewal of 

the war witn 

Greek cities had been surrendered to Persia ac- Persia, 
cording to treaty, as the price for the assistance which Per- 
sia rendered to Sparta in the war with Athens. But the 
Persian rule, under the satraps, especially of Tissaphernes, 
who had been rewarded by Artaxerxes with 'more power 
than before, became oppressive and intolerable. [NTothing 
but aggravated slavery impended over them. They there- 
fore sent to Sparta for aid to throw off the Persian yoke. 
The ephors, with nothing more to gain from Persia, and 
inspired with contempt for the Persian armies — contempt 
created by the expedition of the Ten Thousand — readily 
15 



226 Tke LacedoBmonian Empire. [Chap. xvi. 

listened to the overtures, and sent a considerable force into 
Asia, under Thimbron. He had poor success, and was recall- 
ed, and Dercyllidas was sent in his stead. He made a truce 
with Tissaphernes, in order to attack Pharnabazus, against 
whom he had an old grudge, and with whom Tissaphernes 
himself happened for the time to be on ill terms. Dercyl- 
lidas overran the satrapy of Pharnabazus, took immense 
spoil, and took up winter-quarters in Bythinia. Making 
a truce with Pharnabazus, he crossed over into Europe 
and fortified the Chersonesus against the Thracians. He 
then renewed the war both against Pharnabazus and 
Tissaphernes upon the Maeander, the result of which was 
an agreement, on the part of the satraps, to exempt 
the Grecian cities from tribute and political interference, 
while the Spartan general promised to withdraw from Asia 
his army, and the Spartan governors from the Grecian cities. 

At this point, b. c. 397, Dercyllidas was recalled to Sparta, 
Agesiiaus, and King Agesllaus, who had recently arrived 
Sparta. with large re-enforcements, superseded him in com- 

mand of the Lacedaemonian army. Agesiiaus was the son of 
king Archidamus, and half-brother to King Agis. He was 
about forty when he became king, through the influence of 
Lysander, in preference to his nephew, and having been 
brought up without prospects of the throne, had passed 
through the unmitigated rigor of the Spartan drill and 
training. He was distinguished for all the Spartan virtues — 
obedience to authority, extraordinary courage and energy, 
simplicity and frugality. 

Agesiiaus was assisted by large contingents from the allied 
Greek cities for his war in Asia ; but Athens, Corinth, and 
Thebes stood aloof Lysander accompanied him as one of 
the generals, but gave so great offense by his overweening 
arrogance, that he was sent to command at the Hellespont. 
The truce between the Spartans and Persians being broken, 
Agesiiaus prosecuted the war vigorously against both Tissa- 
phernes and Pharnabazus. He gained a considerable victory 
over the Persians near Sardis, invaded Phrygia, and laid 



Chap. XVI.] Invasion of Elis. 227 

waste the satrapy of Pharnabazus. He even surprised the 
camp of the satrap, and gained immense booty. Recall of 
But in the midst of his victories he was recalled ^omthe^ 
by Sparta, which had need of his services at home. ^^'^' 
A rebellion of the allies had broken out, which seriously 
threatened the stability of the Spartan empire. 

" The prostration of the power of Athens had removed that 
common bond of hatred and alarm which attached the allied 
cities to the headship of Sparta ; while her subsequent 
conduct had ffiven positive offense, and had ex- Discontent 

T . , ^ ' of the Gre- 

cited agamst herself the same fear of unmeasured ciaa states. 
imperial ambition which had before run so powerfully against 
Athens. She had appropriated to herself nearly the whole 
of the Athenian maritime empire, with a tribute of one 
thousand talents. But while Sparta had gained so much by 
the war, not one of her allies had received the smallest 
remuneration. Even the four hundred and seventy talents 
which Lysander brought home out of the advances made 
by Cyrus, together with the booty acquired at Decelea, 
was all detained by the Lacedaemonians. Hence there 
arose among the allies not only a fear of the grasping 
dominion, but a hatred of the monopolizing rapacity 
of Sparta. This was manifested by the Thebans and 
Corinthians when they refused to join Pausanias in his 
march against Thrasybulus and the Athenian exiles in 
Piraeus. But the Lacedaemonians were strong enough to des- 
pise this alienation of the allies, and even to take Alienation of 

. ' . the allies of 

revenge on such as incurred their displeasure. Sparta. 
Among these were the Eleians, whose territory they invaded, 
but which they retreated from, on the appearance of an earth- 
quake." 

The following year the Spartans, under King Agis, again 
invaded the territory of Elis, enriched by the offerings made 
to the temple of Olympia. Immense booty in slaves, cattle, 
and provisions was the result of this invasion, provoked by 
the refusal of the Eleians to furnish aid in the war against 
Athens. The Eleians were obliged to submit to hard terms 



228 The LacedcBmonian Empire. [Chap. xvi. 

of peace, and all the enemies of Sparta were rooted out of the 
Peloponnesus. 

Such was the triumphant position of Sparta at the close of 
the Peloponnesian war. And a great change had also taken 
place in her internal affairs. The people bad become enriched 
Enrichment ^^ succcssful War, and gold and silver were ad- 
of Sparta. mittcd against the old institution of ■ Lycurgus, 
which recognized only iron money. The public men were 
enriched by bribes. The strictness of the old rule of Spartan 
discipline was gradually relaxed. 

It was then, shortly after the accession of Agesilaus to the 
throne, on the death of Agis, that a dangerous conspiracy 
Conspiracy broke out in Sparta itself, headed by Cinadon, a 

B^amst the r» T t 

States. man of strength and courage, who saw that men 

of his class were excluded from the honors and distinctions 
of the State by the oligarchy — ^the ephors and the senate. 
But the rebellion, though put down by the energy of Ages- 
ilaus, still produced a dangerous discontent which weakened 
the power of the State, 

The Lacedaemonian naval power, at this crisis, was seri- 
ously threatened by the union of the Persian and Athenian 
.Lacedoemo- fleet under Conon. That remarkable man had 

nian fleet r> ti-, . . , 

threatened, escapcd irom the disaster oi ^gospotami with 
eight triremes, and sought the shelter of Cyprus, governed by 
his friend Evagoras, where he remained until the war between 
Sparta and the Persians gave a new direction to his enter- 
prising genius. He joined Pharnabazus, enraged with the 
Spartans on account of the invasion of his satrapy by Lysan- 
der and Agesilaus, and by him was intrusted with the com- 
mand of the Persian fleet. He succeeded in detaching 
Hhodes from the Spartan alliance, and gained, some time 
Favai Vic- after, a decisive victory over Pisander — the Spar- 
iSdrmo^^ tan admiral, off Cnidus, which weakened the 
nians. power of Sparta on the sea, b. c. 394. More than 

half of the Spartan ships were captured and destroyed. 

This great success emboldened Thebes and other States to 
throw off the Spartan yoke, Lysander was detached from 



Chap, xvi] Battle of Coronma, 229 

his command at the Hellespont to act against Boeotia, while 
Pausanias conducted an army from the Pelopon- p^^^^j^ 
nesus. The Thebans, threatened by the whole power Thebea. 
of Sparta, applied to Athens, and Athens responded, no lono-er 
Tinder the control of the Thirty Tyrants. Lysander was 
killed before Haliartus, an irreparable blow to Sparta, since he 
was her ablest general. Pausanias was compelled to evacuate 
Boeotia, and the enemies of Sparta took courage. An alliance 
between Athens, Corinth, Thebes, and Argos was now made 
to carry on war against Sparta. 

Thebes at this time steps from the rank of a secondary 
power, and gradually rises to the rank of an ascendant city* 
Her leading citizen was Ismenias, one of the great Renewed 

[* ^ ' c\ 1 p<)wer of the 

organizers oi the anti-bpartan movement — -the pre- city. 
cursor of Pelopidas and Epaminondas. He conducted success- 
ful operations in the northern part of Boeotia, and captured 
Heracleia. 

Such successes induced the Lacedaemonians to recall Agesi- 
laus from Asia, and to concentrate all their forces against 
this new alliance, of which Thebes and Corinth were then 
the most powerful cities. The allied forces were also con- 
siderable — some twenty-four thousand hoplites, besides light 
troops and cavalry, and these were mustered at Corinth, 
where they took up a defensive position. The Lacedaemonians 
advanced to attack them, and gained an indecisive victory, 
B. c. 394, which secured their ascendency within the Pelo- 
ponnesus, but no further. Agesilaus advanced from Asia 
through Thrace to co-operate, but learned, on the confines of 
Boeotia, the news of the great battle of Cnidus. At Coronsea 
another battle was fought between the Spartan battle of 
and anti-Spartan forces, which was also indecisive, oronaea. 
but in which the Thebans displayed great heroism. This 
battle compelled Agesilaus, with the Spartan forces, which 
he commanded, to retire from Boeotia. 

This battle was a moral defeat to Sparta. N"early all her 
maritime allies deserted her — all but Abydos, which was held 
by the celebrated Dercyllidas. Pharnabazus and Conon now 



230 The LacedcBTnonian Empire. [Chap. xvi. 

sailed with their fleet to Corinth, but the Persian satrap 
Decline of soon left, and Conon remained sole admiral, assist- 
Sparta. q.^ with Persian money. With this aid he rebuilt 

the long walls of Athens, with the hearty co-operation of 
those allies which had once been opposed to Athens. 

Conon had large plans for the restoration of the Athenian 
power. He organized a large mercenary force at Corinth, 
which had now become the seat of war. But as many evils 
resulted from the presence of so many soldiers in the city, a 
conspiracy headed by the oligarchal party took place, with a 
view of restoring the Lacedaemonian power. Pasimelus, the 
head of the conspirators, admitted the enemy within the 
long walls of the city, which, as in Athens, secured a com- 
Corintii be- munication between the city and the port. And 
seat of war. between thcsc walls a battle took place, in which 
the Lacedaemonians were victorious with a severe loss. They 
pulled down a portion of the walls between Corinth and the 
port of Lechseum, sallied forth, and captured two Corinthian 
dependencies, but the city of Corinth remained in the hands 
of their gallant defenders, under the Athenian Iphicrates. 
The long walls were soon restored, by aid of the Athenians, 
but were again retaken by Agesilaus and the Spartans, to- 
gether with Lechaeum. This success alarmed Thebes, which 
unsuccessfully sued for peace. The war continued, with the 
loss, to the Corinthians, of Piraeum, an important island 
port, which induced the Thebans again to open negotiations 
for peace, which were contemptuously rejected. 

In the midst of these successes, tidings came to Agesilaus 
of a disaster which was attended with important conse- 
Great dis- quenccs, and which spoiled his triumph. This was 
Sparta. the dcstruction of a detachment of six hundred 

Lacedaemonian hoplites by the light troops of Iphicrates — an 
unprecedented victory — for the hoplites, in their heavy de- 
fensive armor, held in contempt the peltarts with their darts 
and arrows, even as the knights of mediaeval Europe despised 
an encounter with the peasantry. This event revived the 
courage of the anti-Spartan allies, and intensely humiliated 



Chap. XVI.] Death of Tlirasyhulus, 231 

the Lacedaemonians. It was not only the loss of the aris- 
tocratic hoplites, but the disgrace of being beaten by peltarts. 
Iphicrates recovered the places which Agesilaus had taken, 
and Corinth remained undisturbed. 

Sparta, in view of these great disasters, now sought to 
detach Persia from Athens. She sent Antalcidas to Ionia, 
offering to surrender the Asiatic Greeks, and prom- Sparta in- 

. , , 1 1 1 /-M Yokes the 

ismg a universal autonomy throughout the Gre- aid of Persia. 
cian world. These overtures were disliked by the allies, 
who sent Conon to counteract them. But Antalcidas stained 
the favor of the Persian satrap Tiribasus, who had succeeded 
Tissaphernes, and he privately espoused the cause of Sparta, 
and seized Conon and caused his death. Tiribasus, how- 
ever, was not sustained by the Persian court, which remained 
hostile to Sparta. Struthas, a Persian general, was sent into 
Ionia, to act more vigorously against the Lacedaemonians. 
He gained a victory, b. c. 390, over the Spartan forces, 
commanded by Thimbron, who was slain. 

The Lacedaemonians succeeded, after the death of Conon, 
in concentrating a considerable fleet near Rhodes. Against 
this, Thrasybulus was sent from Athens with a still larger 
one, and was gaining advantages, when he was Beath of 
slain near Aspendus, in Pamphylia, in a mutiny, uius.' 
and Athens lost the restorer of her renovated democracy, and 
an able general and honest citizen, without the vindictive ani- 
mosities which characterized the great men of his day. 

Rhodes stiU held out against the Lacedaemonians, who 
were now commanded by Anaxibius, in the place of Dercyl- 
lidas. He was surprised by Iphicrates, and was iriyegtment 
slain, and the Athenians, under this gallant '^^ Rhodes. 
leader, again became masters of the Hellespont. But this 
success, was balanced by the defection of JEgina, which 
island was constrained by the Lacedaemonians into war with 
Athens. I need not detail the various enterprises on both 
sides, until Antalcidas returned from Susa with the treaty 
confirmed between the Spartans and the court of Persia, 
which closed the war between the various contending parties, 



232 The Lacedmnonian Emj^ire,. [Chap. xvi. 

B. c. 387. This treaty was of great importance, but it indi- 
cates the loss of all Hellenic dignity when Sparta, too, descends 
so far as to comply with the demands of a Persian satrap. 
Evil conse- Athens and Sparta, both, at different times, in- 
the rfvaiSes voked the aid of Persia against each other — the 
ciaa States, most mournful fact in the whole history of Greece, 
showing how much more powerful were the rivalries of States 
than the sentiment of patriotism, which should have united 
them against their common enemy. The sacrifice of Ionia 
was the price which was paid by Sparta, in order to retain 
her supremacy over the rest of Greece, and Persia ruled 
over all the Greeks on the Asiatic coast. Sparta became 
mistress of Corinth and of the Corinthian Isthmus. She or- 
ganized anti-Theban oligarchies in the Boeotian cities, with 
a Spartan harmost. She decomposed the Grecian world into 
small fragments. She crushed Olynthus, and formed a con- 
federacy between the Persian king and Dionysius of Syracuse. 
In short, she ruled with despotic sway over all the different 
States. 

We have now to show how Sparta lost the ascendency she 
had gained, and became involved in a war with Thebes, and 
how Thebes became, under Pelopidas and Epaminondas, for a 
time the dominant State of Greece. 



CHAPTER XVn. 

THE KEPUBLIC OF THEBES. 

After Sparta and Athens, no State of Greece arrived at 
pre-eminence, until the Macedonian empire arose, 
except Thebes, the capital of Boeotia ; and the 
empire of this city was short, though memorable, from the 
extraordinary military genius of Epaminondas. 

In the year b. c. 379, Sparta was the ascendant power of 
Greece, and was feared, even as Athens was in the time of 
Pericles. She had formed an alliance with the Persian king 
and with Dionysius of Syracuse. All Greece, within and 
without the Peloponnesus, except Argos and Attica and 
some Thessalian cities, was enrolled in a confederacy under 
the lead of Sparta, and Spartan governors and garrisons 
occupied the principal cities. 

Thebes especially was completely under Spartan influence 
and control, and was apparently powerless. Her citadel, 
the Cadmea, was filled with Spartan soldiers, Under tixe 

' ^ dominion of 

and the independence of Greece was at an end. Sparta. 
Confederated with Macedonians, Persians, and Syracusans, 
nobody dared to call in question the headship of Sparta, or 
to provoke her displeasure. 

This destruction of Grecian liberties, with the aid of the 
old enemies of Greece, kindled great indignation. The 
orator Lysias, at Athens, sjave vent to the sjeneral invectives 

J' ) 5 & ^ ^ of the 

feelino;, in which he veils his displeasure under the orators 

at^ainst 

form of surprise, that Sparta, as the chief of Sparta. 
Greece, should permit the Persians, under Artaxerxes, and 
the Syracusans, under Dionysius, to enslave Greece. The 
orator Iso crates spoke still more plainly, and denounced the 



234 The Bej)uUic of Thebes, [Chap, xvii 

Lacedgemonians as "traitors to the general security and free- 
dom of Greece, and seconding foreign kings to aggrandize 
themselves at the cost of autonomous Grecian cities — all in 
the interest of their own selfish ambition." Even Xeno- 
phon, with all his partiality for Sparta, was still more em- 
phatic, and accused the Lacedcemonians with the violation 
of their oaths. 

In Thebes the discontent Avas most apparent, for their 
leading citizens were exiled, and the oligarchal party, headed 
Discontent ^Y Lcoutiades and the Spartan garrison, was op- 
iu Thebes. pressivc alid tyrannical. The Theban exiles found 
at Athens sympathy and shelter. Among these was Pelopi- 
das, who resolved to free his country from the Spartan yoke. 
Holding intimate correspondence with his friends in Thebes, 
he looked forward patiently for the means of effecting de- 
liverance, which could only be effected by the destruction 
of Leontiades and his colleascues, who ruled the citv. Phili- 
das, secretary of the polemarchs, entered into the conspiracy, 
and, being sent in an embassy to Athens, concocted the 
way for Pelopidas and his friends to return to Thebes and 
effect a revolution. Charon, an eminent patriot, agreed to 
shelter the conspirators in his house until they struck the 
blow. Epaminondas, then living at Thebes, dissuaded the 
enterprise as too hazardous, although all his sympathies were 
with the conspirators. 

When all was ready, Philidas gave a banquet at his house 
to the polemarchs, agreeing to introduce into the company 
Eebeiiion some womcn of the first families of Thebes, dis- 
pwiidas. tinguished for their beauty. In concert with the 
Theban exiles at Athens, Pelopidas, with six companions, 
crossed Cithgsron and arrived at Thebes, in December, b. c. 
379, disscuised as hunters, with no other arms than concealed 
daggers. By a fortunate accident they entered the gates 
and sousfht shelter in the house of Charon until the nio-ht of 
the banquet. They were introduced into the banqueting 
chamber when the polemarchs were full of wine, disguised 
in female attire, and, with the aid of their Theban consj)ira- 



Chap. XVII.] Rebellion of Thebes. 235 

tors, dispatched three of the polemarchs with their daggers. 
Leontiades was not present, but the conspirators Avere con- 
ducted secretly to his house, and effected their purpose. 
Leontiades was slain, in the presenc« of his wife. The con- 
spirators then proceeded to the prison, slew the jailor, and 
liberated the prisoners, and then proclaimed, by 

. Its success. 

heralds, in the streets, at midnight, that the des- 
pots were slain and Thebes was free. But the Spartans still 
held possession of the citadel, and, apprised of the coup 
d'etat, sent home for re-enforcements. But before they could 
arrive Pelopidas and the enfranchised citizens stormed the 
Cadmea, dispersed the garrison, put to death the oligarchal 
Thebans, and took full possession of the city. 

This unlooked-for revolution was felt throughout Greece like 
an electric shock, and had a powerful moral eifect. But the 
Spartans, althouarh it was the depth of winter, The Theban 

f, . . -, TT- /~^^ 1 revolution 

sent forth an expedition, under King Cleombrotus — produces a 
Agesilaus being disabled — to reconquer Thebes, tion. 
He conducted his army along the Isthmus of Corinth, through 
Megara, but did nothing, and returned, leaving his lieutenant, 
Sphodrias, to prosecute hostilities. Sphodrias, learning that 
the Peiraeus was undefended, undertook to seize it, but 
failed, which outrage so incensed the Athenians, that they 
dismissed the Lacedaemonian envoys, and declared war 
against Sparta. Athens now exerted herself to Thebes 
form a second maritime confederacy, like that of ance^wiJh"*" 
Delos, and Thebes enrolled herself a member. Athens. 
As the Athenian envoys, sent to the islands of the ^gean, 
promised the most liberal principles, a new confederacy was 
formed. The confederates assembled at Athens and threat- 
ened war on an extensive scale. A resolution was passed to 
equip twenty thousand hoplites, five hundred horsemen, and 
two hundred triremes. A new property-tax was imposed at 
Athens to carry on the war. 

At Thebes there was great enthusiasm, and Pelopidas, 
with Charon and Melon, were named the first boeo- Theban gov- 
trarchs. The Theban government became demo- ®''°™®"*- 



236 The BepuUic of Thebes. [Chap. xvii. 

cratic in form and spirit, and the military force was put upon 
a severe training. A new brigade of three hundi-ed hoplites, 
called the Sacred Band, was organized for the special defense 
of the citadel, composed of young men from the best families, 
distino-uished for streng^th and courao;e. The Thebans had 
always been good soldiers, bat the popular enthusiasm raised 
up the best army for its size in Greece. 

Epaminondas now stands forth as a leader of rare excel- 
Epaminon- Icucc, destined to achieve the greatest military rep- 
^®" utation of any Greek, before or since his time, with 

the exception of Alexander the Great — a kind of Gustavus 
Adolphus, introducing new tactics into Grecian warfare. 
He was in the prime of life, belonging to a poor but honor- 
able family, younger than Pelopidas, who was rich. He had 
His af.com- acquired great reputation for his gymnastic exer- 
phshments. ciggg^ ^ud was the most cultivated man in Thebes, 
a good musician, and a still greater orator. He learned to 
play on both the lyre and flute from the teachings of the 
best masters, sought the conversation of the learned, but 
was especially eloquent in speech, and efiective, even against 
the best Athenian opponents. He was modest, unambitious, 
patriotic, intellectual, contented with poverty, generous, and 
disinterested. When the Cadmea was taken, he was undis- 
tinguished, and his rare merits were only known to Pelopidas 
and his friends. He was among the first to join the revolu- 
tionists, and was placed by Pelopidas among the organizers 
of the military force. 

The Spartans now made renewed exertions, and King 
Agesilaus, the greatest military man of whom Sparta can 
boast, marched with a large army, in the spring of b. c. 378, 
af'a "k '^^ attack Thebes. He established his head-quar- 

Thebes. tcrs in ThespisB, from which he issued to devastate 
the Theban territory. 

The Thebans and AthenianSj unequal in force, still kept 
the field against him, acting on the defensive, declining 
battle, and occupying strong positions. After a month of 
desultory warfare, Agesilaus retired, leaving Phoebidas 



Chap. XVII.] Naval Victory. 237 

in command at Thespise, who was slain in an incautious 
pursuit of the enemy. 

In the ensuing summer Agesilaus undertook a second expe- 
dition into BcBotia, but gained no decided advantage, while 
the Thebans acquired experience, courage, and strength. 
Agesilaus having strained his lame leg, was inca- gecond nu- 
pacitated for active operation, and returned to IxnedTrion 
Sparta, leaving Cleombrotus to command the oi" Agesilaus. 
Spartan forces. lie was unable to enter Boeotia, since the 
passes over Mount Cithseron were held by the Thebans, and 
he made an inglorious retreat, without even reaching Boeotia. 

The Spartans now resolved to fit out a large naval force 
to operate against Athens, by whose assistance the Thebans 
had maintained their ground for two years. The Athenians, 
on their part, also fitted out a fleet, assisted by their allies, 
under the command of Chabrias, Avhich defeated the Lace- 
daemonian fleet nearNaxos, b. c. 376. This was the Naval vic- 

n •' T'lAi iT«T- t"^T "* the 

nrst great victory which Athens had gamed since Athenians. 
the Pelopoimesian war, and filled her citizens with joy and 
confidence, and led to a material enlargement of their mari- 
time confederacy. Phocion, who had charge of a squadron 
detached from the fleet of Chabrias, also sailed victorious 
round the ^gean, took twenty triremes, three thousand 
prisoners, with one hundred and ten talents in money, and 
annexed seventeen cities to the confederacy. Timotheus, 
the son of Conon, was sent with the fleet of Chabrias, to 
circumnavigate the Peloponnesus, and alarm the coast of 
Laconia. The important island of Corcyra entered into the 
confederation, and another Spartan fleet, under ISJ'icolochus, 
was defeated, so that the Athenians became once again the 
masters of the sea. But having regained their ascendency, 
Athens became jealous of the growing power of Thebes, now 
mistress of Bceotia, and this jealousy, inexcusable after such 
reverses, was increased when Pelopidas gained a great vic- 
tory over the Lacedaemonians near Tegyra, which victory of 
led to the expulsion of their enemies from all parts ^ ^^*^ ^^ 
of Boeotia, except Orchomenus, on the borders of Phocis. 



238 The RejpulliG of Thebes. [Chap. XVII 

That territory was now attacked by the victorious Thebans, 
upon which Athens made peace with the Lacedaemonians. 

It would thus seem that the ancient Grecian States were 
Thejeaiousy perpetually jealous of any ascendant power, and 
cfaDJepub- their pohcy was not dissimilar from that which 
lies. ^2c6 inaugurated in modern Europe since the treaty 

of Westphalia — called the balance of power. Greece, thus 
far, was not ambitious to extend her rule over foreign na- 
tions, but sought an autonomous independence of the several 
States of which she was composed. Had Greece united 
under the leadership of Sparta or Athens, her foreign con- 
quests might have been considerable, and her power, cen- 
tralized and formidable, might have been a match even for 
the Romans. But in the anxiety of each State to secure its 
independence, there were perpetual and unworthy jealousies 
of each rising State, when it had reached a certain point of 
prosperity and glory. Hence the various States united under 
Sparta, in the Peloponnesian war, to subvert the ascendency 
of Athens. And when Sparta became the dominant power 
of Greece, Athens unites with Thebes to break her domina- 
tion. And now Athens becomes jealous of Thebes, and 
makes peace with Sparta, in the same way that England in 
the eighteenth century united with Holland and other 
States, to prevent the aggrandizement of France, as different 
powers of Europe had pre^dously united to prevent the 
ascendency of Austria. 

The Spartan power was now obviously bumbled, and one 
Humiliation ^^ ^he greatest evidences of this was the decline 
of Sparta. ^^ Sparta to give aid to the cities of Thes^saly, in 
danger of being conquered by Jason, the despot of Pherse, 
whose formidable strength was now alarming Northern 
Greece. 

The peace which Sparta had concluded with Athens was 
of very short duration. The Lacedsemonians resolved to 
attack Corey ra, which had joined the Athenian confederation. 
An armament collected from the allies, under Mnasippus, 
in the spring of b. c. 373, proceeded against Oorcyra. The 



Chap, xvii.] Athens and Sparta at Peace. 239 

inhabitants, driven within the walls of the city, were in 
danger of famine, and invoked Athenian aid. Before it 
arrived, however, the Corcyrsenns made a successful sally 
upon the Spartan troops, over-confident of victory, in which 
Mnasippus was slain, and the city became supplied with 
provisions. After the victory, Iphicrates, in com- Hostilities 
mand of the Athenian fleet, which had been belwUn^* 
delayed, arrived and captured the ships which ^amf^"^ 
Dionysius of Syracuse had sent to the aid of the Lacedae- 
monians. These reverses induced the Spartans to send 
Antalcidas again to Persia to sue for fresh intervention, but 
the satraps, having nothing more to gain from Sparta, 
refused aid. But Athens was not averse to peace, since she 
no longer was jealous of Sparta, and was jealous of Thebes. 
In the mean time Thebes seized Platjea, a town of Boeotia, 
unfriendly to her ascendency, and expelled the inhabitants 
who sought shelter in Athens, and increased the feeling of 
disaffection toward the rising power. This event led to 
renewed negotiations for peace between Athens peacebe- 
and Sparta, which was effected at a congress held ^'"'^^^ 
in the latter city. The Athenian orator Calli- Sp^aS^""*^ 
stratus, one of the envoys, proposed that Sparta and Athens 
should divide the headship of Greece between them, the 
former having the supremacy on land, the latter on the sea. 
Peace was concluded on the basis of the autonomy of 
each city. 

Epaminondas was the Theban deputy to this congress. 
He insisted on taking the oath in behalf of the ^ aminon 
Boeotian confederation, even as Sparta had done £^3"*"'°" 
for herself and allies. But Agesilaus required he SpS.'" ""^ 
should take the oath for Thebes alone, as Athens had done 
for herself alone. He refused, and made himself memorable 
for his eloquent speeches, in which he protested against the 
pretensions of Sparta. " Why," he maintained, " should not 
Thebes respond for Boeotia, as well as Sparta for Laconia, 
smce Thebes had the same ascendency in Boeotia that Sparta 
had in Laconia?" Agesilaus, at last, indignantly started 



240 The RejpuUiG of Thebes. [Chap.XVII. 

froia his seat, and said to Epaminondas : '* Speak plainly. 
Will yon, or will you not, leave to each of the Boeotian cities 
its sei)arate autonomy?" To which the other replied: 
" Will you leave each of the Laconian towns autonomous ?" 
Withont saying a word, Agesilaus struck t^ie name of theThe- 
bans out of the roll, and they were excluded from the treaty. 
The war was now to be prosecuted between Sparta and 
Thebes, since peace was sworn between all the other States. 
Eenewai of The dcDuties of Thcbcs returned home discour- 

hostilities ■"■ . . 

between ao^ed, knowiuo; that their city must now encounter, 

Sparta and f ' _ i^ , . , -^ n , -i • 

Thebes. smgle-handed, the whole power oi the dommant 
State of Greece. " The Athenians — friendly with both, yet 
allies with neither — suifered the dispute to be fought out 
without interfering." The point of it was, whether Thebes 
was in the same relation to the Boeotian towns that Sparta 
was to the Laconian cities. Agesilaus contended that the 
relations between Thebes and other Boeotian cities was the 
same as what subsisted between Sparta and her allies. This 
was opposed by Epaminondas. 

After the congress of b. c. 371, both Sparta and Athens 
fulfilled the conditions to which their deputies had sworn. 
The latter gave orders to Iphicrates to return home with his 
fleet, which had threatened the Lacedaemonian coast ; the 
Great prepa- former recalled her harmosts and garrisons from 

rations of -ni •• i«ii •t'~i-ii t 

Sparta. all the Cities which she occupied, while she made 

preparations, with all her energies, to subdue Thebes. It 
was anticipated that so powerful a State as Sparta would 
soon accomplish her object, and few out of Boeotia doubted 
her success. 

King Gleombrotus was accordingly ordered to march out 
of Phocis, where he was with a powerful force, into Boeotia. 
Epaminondas, with a body of Thebans, occupied a narrow 
pass near Coronea, between a spur of Mount Helicon and 
the Lake Oopais. But instead of forcing this pass, the Spar- 
Defeat of a tan kinff turned southward by a mountain road. 

Theban "^^ - •' ^ 

force. over Helicon, deemed scarcely practicable, and de- 

feated a Theban division which guarded it, and marched to 



CttAp. XVII.] Tactics of Ejpojminondas. 241 

Creusis, on trie Gulf of Alcyonis, and captured twelve The- 
ban triremes in the harbor. He then left a garrison to occupy 
the post, and proceeded over a mountainous road in the 
territory of Thespias, on the eastern declivity of Helicon, to 
Leuctra, where he encamped. He was now near Thebes, 
having a communication with Sparta through the port of 
Creusis. The Thebans were dismayed, and it required all 
the tact and eloquence of Epaminondas and Pelopidas to 
rally them. They marched out at lengtli from Thebes, under 
their seven bceotrarchs, and posted themselves opposite the 
Spartan camp. Epaminondas was one of these generals, 
and urged immediate battle, although the Theban forces 
were inferior. 

It was through him that a change took place in the ordi- 
nary Grecian tactics. It was customary to fio-ht Military tac- 

. , , , , ITT .-,.■,, ticsofEpam- 

simultaneously along the whole Ime, m which the inondas. 
opposing armies were drawn up. Departing from this cus- 
tom, he disposed his troops obliquely, or in echelon, placing 
on his left chosen Theban hoplites to the depth of fifty, so a3 
to bear with impetuous force on the Spartan right, while his 
centre and right were kept back for awhile from action. 
Such a combination, so unexpected, was completely successful. 
The Spartans could not resist the concentrated and impetuous 
assault made on their right, led by the Sacred Band, Avith 
fifty shields propelling behind. Cleombrotus, the Spartan 
king, was killed, with the most distinguished of his staiF, and 
the Spartans were driven back to their camp. The allies, 
who fought without spirit or heart, could not be rallied. 
The victory was decisive, and made an immense O'-eat victo- 

, , ^ /> . 1 '"y outlined 

impression throughout Greece; lor it was only by Thebes, 
twenty days since Epaminondas had departed from Sparta, 
excluded from the general peace. The Spartans bore the de- 
feat with their characteristic fortitude, but their prestige was 
destroyed. A new general had arisen in Boeotia, who carried 
every thing before him. The Athenians heard of the victory 
with ill-concealed jealousy of the rising power. 

Jason, the tyrant of Pherae, now joined the Theban camp, 

16 



242 The Bejpullic of Tliebes. [Chap. xvii. 

and the Spartan array was obliged to evacuate Boeotia. 
The Spartans The great victorv of Leuctra gave immense ex- 
Boeotia. . tension to theTheban power, and broke the Spartan 
rule north of the Peloponnesus. All the cities of Boeotia 
acknowledged the Theban supremacy, while the harraosts 
which Sparta had placed in the Grecian cities were forced to 
return home. Sparta was now discouraged and helpless, and 
even many Peloponnesian cities put themselves under the 
presidency of Athens. None were more affected by the 
Spartan overthrow than the Arcadians, whose principal 
cities had been governed by an oligarchy in the interest 
of Sparta, such as Tegea and Orchomenus, while Mantinea 
was broken up into villages. The Arcadians, free from 
Spartan governors, and ceasing to look henceforth for vic- 
tory and plunder in the service of Sparta, became hostile, 
and sought their political independence. A Pan-Arcadian 
union was formed. 

Sparta undertook to recover her supremacy over Arcadia, 
and Agesilaus was sent to Mantinea with a considerable 
Agesiiaus forcc, for the city had rebuilt its walls, and resumed 

marches into . „ , . , . i • i rv 

Arcadia. its lormer consolidation, which was a great onense 
in the eyes of Sparta. The Arcadians, invaded by Spar- 
tans, first invoked the aid of Athens, which being refused, 
they turned to Thebes, and Epaminondas came to their re- 
lief with a great army of auxiliaries — Argeians, Eleians, Pho- 
cians, Locrians, as well as Thebans, for his fame now drew 
adventurers from every quarter to his standard. These 
Epaminon- forccs Urged him to invade Laconia itself, and his 

das invades . ^ ,. . . , , 

Sparta. great army, m lour divisions, penetrated the coun- 

try through different passes. He crossed the Eurotas and 
advanced to Sparta, which was in the greatest consternation, 
not merely from the near presence of Epaminondas with a 
powerful army of seventy thousand men, but from the dis- 
content of the Helots. But Agesilaus put the city in the 
best possible defense, while every means were used to secure 
auxiliaries from other cities. Epaminondas dared not to 
attempt to take the city by storm, and after ravaging Laco- 



Chap. XVII.] Sjparta Disraemhcred. 243 

nia, returned into Arcadia. This insult to Sparta was of 
great moral force, and was an intense humiliation, greater 
even than that felt after the battle of Leuctra. 

This expedition, though powerless against Sparta herself, 
prepared Epaminondas to execute the real object which led 
to the assistance of the Arcadians. This was the Restores the 

-,., „-_ . ,.--^^ independence 

re-estabiisnment oi Messenia, which had been con- of Messenia. 
quered by Sparta two hundred years before. The new city 
of Messenia was built on the site of Mount Ithome, where the 
Messenians had defended themselves in their lonsc war aojainst 
the Laconians, and the best masons and architects were invit- 
ed from all Greece to lay out the streets, and erect the public 
edifices, while Epaminondas superintended the fortifications. 
All the territory westward and south of Ithome — the south- 
western corner of the Peloponnesus, richest on the peninsula, 
was now subtracted from Sparta, while the country to the 
east was 'protected by the new city in Arcadia, Megalopolis, 
which the Arcadians built. This wide area, the best half of 
the Spartan, territory, was thus severed from Sparta, and was 
settled by Helots, who became free men, with in- The Spartan 

•iiiTir" ' 1 -\ -r» kingdom dis- 

extmguighable hatred of their old masters, but membered. 
these Helots were probably the descendants of the old Mes- 
senians whom Sparta had conquered. This renovation of 
Messenia, and the building of the two cities, Messenia and 
Megalopolis, was the work of Epaminondas, and were the 
most important events of the day. The latter city wa» 
designed as the centre of a new confederacy, comprising all 
Arcadia. 

Sparta being thus crippled, dismembered, and humbled',, 
Epaminondas evacuated the Peloponnesus, filled, however,, 
with undiminished hostility. Sparta condescends to solicit aidi 
from Athens, so completely was its power broken Sparta forms- 

. an alliance 

by the Theban State, and Athens consents to with Athens, 
assist her, in the growing fear and jealousy of Thebes^ 
thereby showing that the animosities of the Grecian States 
grew out of political jealousy rather than from revenge or 
injury. To rescue Sparta was a wise policy, if it were 



244 The Be/public of Thebes. [Chap. xvii. 

necessary to maintain a counterpoise against the ascendency 
of Thebes. An army was raised, and Iphicrates was ap- 
pointed general. He first marched to Corinth, and from 
thence into Arcadia, but made war with no important results. 
Such were the great political changes which occurred 
within two years under the influence of such a hero as 
Epaminondas. Laconia had been invaded and devastated, 
the Spartans were confined within their walls, Messenia had 
been liberated from Spartan rule, two important cities had 
been built, to serve as great fortresses to depress Sparta, 
Greece Helots wcrc Converted into freemen, and Greece 

emancipat- n i t i • in i oi 

ed from the p^enerallv had been emancipated irom the bpartan 

Spartan -, r^ , , n i i i 

yoke. yoke. Such were the consequences oi the battle 

of Leuctra. 

And this battle, which thus destroyed the prestige of 
Sparta, also led to renewed hopes on the part of the Athen- 
ians to regain the power they had lost. Athens already had 
regained the ascendency on the sea, and looked for increased 
maritime aggrandizement. On the land she could only 
remain a second class power, and serve as a bulwark against 
Theban ascendency. 

Athens sought also to recover Amphipolis — a maritime 
Athens seeks citv, colonizcd bv Athenians, at the head of the 

to recover <-^ . /-./^.-.r !• i«i 

Amphipolis. Strymomcan Gulf, m Macedonia, which was taken 
from her in the Peloponnesian war, by Brasidas. Amyntas, 
the king of Macedonia, seeking aid against Jason of Pherse, 
whose Thessalian dominion and personal talents and ambi- 
tion combined to make him a powerful potentate, consented 
to the right of Athens to this city. But Amyntas died not 
long after the assassination of Jason, and both Thessaly and 
Macedonia were ruled by new kings, and new complications 
took place. Many Thessalian cities, hostile to Alexander, 
the son of Jason, invoked the aid of Thebes, and Pelopidas 
A part of was seiit into Thessaly with an army, who took 

Thessaly , , *' . . . 

under the Larissa and various other cities under his protec- 

protection • » ■• r. rr»i 

of Thebes, tion. A large part of Thessaly thus came under 
the protection of Thebes. On the other hand, Alexander, 



Chap, xvit.] Theban Supremacy, 245 

who succeeded Amyntas in Macedonia, found it difficult 
to maintain his own dominion without holduig Thessalian 
towns in garrison. He was also harassed by interior com- 
motions, headed by Pausanias, and was slain. Ptolemy, of 
Alorus, now became regent, and administered the kingdom 
in the name of the minor children of Amyntas — Perdiccas and 
Philip. The mother of these children, Eurydice, presented 
herself, wuth her children, to Tphicrates, and invoked pro- 
tection. He declared in her favor, and expelled Pausanias, 
and secured the sceptre of Amyntas, who had been fi-iendly 
to the Athenians, to his children, under Ptolemy as regent. 
The younger of these children lived to overthrow the liber- 
ties of Greece. 

But Iphicrates did not recover Amphipolis, which was a 
free city, and had become attached to the Spartans after 
Brasidas had taken it. Iphicrates was afterward sent to 
assist Sparta in the desperate contest with Thebes. The 
Spartan allied army occupied Corinth, and guarded the 
passes which prevented the Thebans from penetrating into 
the Peloponnesus. Epaminondas broke through the defenses 
of the Spartans, and opened a communication with his 
Peloponnesian allies, and with these increased forces was 
more than a match for tlie Spartans and Athenians. He 
ravaged the country, induced Sicyon to abandon Sparta, 
and visited Arcadia to superintend the building of Megalopo- 
lis. Meanwhile Pelopidas, B.C. 368, conducted an expedition 
into Thessaly, to protect Larissa against Alexander of 
Pherse, and to counterwork the projects of that despot, 
who was in league with Athens. He was successful, and 
then proceeded to Macedonia, and made peace with 
Ptolemy, who was not strong enough to resist him, taking, 
amonor other hostasies to Thebes, Philip, the son of The Theban 

'-' ^ . supremacy 

Amyntas. The Thebans and Macedonians now in Thossaiy 
united to protect the freedom or Amphipolis against donia. 
Athens, Pelopidas returned to Thebes, having extended 
her ascendency over both Thessaly and Macedonia. 

Thebes, now ambitious for the headship of Greece, sent 



246 The Rejpiihlic of Thebes, [Chap. XVII. 

Pelopidas on a mission to the Persian king at Susa, who 
Thebes now obtained a favorable rescript. The States which 

aspires to ^ ^, i i i 

the leader- wcrc Summoned to Inebes to near the rescript 
Greece. read rcfused to accept it ; and even the Arca- 
dian deputies protested against the headship of Thebes. 
So powerful were the sentiments of all the Grecian States, 
from first to last, against the complete ascendency of any 
one power, either Athens, or Sparta, or Thebes. The rescript 
was also rejected at Corinth. Pelopidas was now sent 
to Thessaly to secure the recognition of the headship of 
Thebes ; but in the execution of his mission he was seized 
and detained by Alexander of Pherse. 

The Thebans then sent an army into Thessaly to rescue 
Pelopidas. Unfortunately, Epaminondas did not command 
it. Having given offense to his countrymen, he was not 
elected that year as bceotrarch, and served in the ranks as 
a private hoplite. Alexander, assisted by the Athenians, 
triumphed in his act of treachery, and treated his illustrious 
captive with harshness and cruelty, and the Theban army, 
unsuccessful, returned home. 

The Thebans then sent another army, under Epaminondas, 
Thebes res- into Thcssaly for the rescue of Pelopidas, and such 

cues Pelopi- /» i • , * , t 

das. was the terror oi his name, that Alexander surren- 

dered his prisoner, and sought to make peace. • But the 
rescue of Pelopidas disabled Thebes from prosecuting the 
war in the Peloponnesus. As soon, however, as this was 
effected, Epaminondas was sent as an envoy into Arcadia to 
dissuade her from a proposed alliance with Athens, and there 
had to contend with- the Athenian orator Callistratus. The 
Complicated relations of the different Grecian States now be- 

political re- . . . 

lations of cauic SO Complicated, that it is useless, m a book 

the Grecian ^-. . 

States. like this, to attempt to unravel them. JNegotia' 

tions between Athens and Persia, the efforts of Corinth and 
other cities to secure peace, the ambition of Athens to main- 
tain ascendency on the sea, the creation of a Theban navy— - 
these and other events must be passed by. 

But we can not omit to notice the death of Pelopidas. 



Chap. XVII] Revolt of Orchomenus, 247 

He had been sent with an army into Thessaly against 
Alexander of Pherae, who was at the height of his T^ .u .,, 

,,,..,- ° Death of Po- 

power, holding m dependence a considerable part of ^^^pi^as. 
Thessaly, and having Athens for an ally. In a battle which 
took place between J^elopidas and Alexander, near Pharsa- 
lus, the Thessalians were routed. Pelopidas, seeino- his 
enemy apparently within his reach, and remembering only his 
injuries, sallied forth, unsupported, like Cyrus, on the field 
of Cunaxa, at the sight of his brother, to attack him when 
surrounded by his guards, and fell while fighting bravely. 
Nothing could exceed the grief of the victorious ^ . . , 

mu 1 • • /> T . -.7 Grief of the 

1 lie bans in view of this disaster, which was the Thebans. 
result of inexcusable rashness. He was endeared by unin- 
terrupted services from the day he slew the Spartan gov- 
ernors and recovered the independence of his city. He had 
taken a prominent part in all the struggles which had raised 
Thebes to unexpected glory, and was second in abilities to 
Epaminondas alone, whom he ever cherished with more than 
fraternal friendship, without envy and without reproach. All . 
that Thebes could do was to revenge his death. Alexander 
was stripped of all his Thessalian dependencies, and confined 
to his own city, with its territory, near the Gulf of Pegas^e. 
It was while Pelopidas was engaged in his Thessalian 
campaign, that a conspiracy against the power of Orchomenus 
Thebes took place in the second city of Boeotia — ThetS/'^" 
Orchomenus, on Lake Copais. This city was always disaf- 
fected, and in the absence of Pelopidas in Thessaly, and 
Epaminondas with a fleet on the Hellespont, some three 
hundred of the richest citizens undertook to overthrow the 
existing government. The plot was discovered before it 
was ripe for execution, the conspirators were executed, 
the town itself was destroyed, the male adults Unfortunate 
were killed, and the women and children were cftjl" 
sold into slavery. This barbarous act was but the result of 
long pent up Theban hatred, but it kindled a great excite- 
ment against Thebes throughout Greece. The city, indeed, 
sympathized with the Spartan cause, and would have been 



248 The Ee^puUiG of Thebes. [Chap. xvii. 

destroyed before but for the intercession of Epaminondas, 
•whose policy was ever lenient and magnanimous. It was a 
matter of profound grief to this general, now re-elected as 
one of the boeotarchs, that Thebes had stained her name by 
this cruel vengeance, since he knew it would intensify the 
increasing animosity against the power which had arrived 
so suddenly to greatness. 

Hostilities, as he feared, soon broke out with increased 
Renewed bittemcss between Sparta and Thebes. And 
hostilities, these w^ere precipitated by difficulties in Arcadia, 
then at war with Elis, and the appropriation of the treasures 
of Olympia by the Arcadians. Sparta, Elis, and Achaia 
formed an alliance, and Arcadia invoked the aid of Thebes. 
The result was that Epaminondas marched with a large 
army into the Peloponnesus, and mustered his forces at 
Tegea, w^hich was under the protection of Thebes. His army 
comprised, besides Thebans and Boeotians, Euboeans, Thessali- 
ans, Locrians, and other allies from Northern Greece. The 
Spartans, allied wdth Elians, Acheeans, and Athenians, united 
at Mantinea, under the command of Agesilaus, now an old 
man of eighty, but still vigorous and strong. Tegea lay in 
the direct road from Sparta to Mantinea, and while Agesi- 
laus was moving: by a more circuitous route to the 

Jipaminon- ^ •' 

das attempts ^yestward, Epamiuoudas resolved to attempt a 

to surprise ' ^ 

Sparta. surprise on Sparta. This movement was unex- 

pected, and nothing saved Sparta except the accidental 
information w^hich Agesilaus received of the movement 
from a runner, in time to turn back to Sparta and 
put it in a condition of defense before Epaminondas 
arrived, for Tegea was only about thirty miles from 
Sparta. The Theban general was in no condition to assault 
the city, and his enterprise failed, from no fault of his. 
Seeing that Sparta was defended,, he marched back immedi- 
ately to Tegea, and dispatched his cavalry to surprise Man- 
tinea, about fifteen miles distant. The surprise was baffled 
by the unexpected arrival of Athenian cavalry. An encoun- 
ter took place between these two bodies of cavalry, in which 



Chap. XVII.] Death of Epaminondas, 249 

the Athenians gained an advantage. Epaminondas saw 
then no chance left for striking a blow but by a pitched 
battle, with all his forces. He therefore marched from 
Tegea toward the enemy, who did not expect to be attacked, 
and was unprepared. He adopted the same tactics that 
gave him success at Leuctra, and posted himself, with his 
Theban phalanx on the left, against the opposing iHs great 
right, and bore down with irresistible force, both the Laced®- 
of infantry and cavalry, while he kept back the Maatinea. 
centre and right, composed of his trustworthy troojDS, until 
the battle should be decided. His column, not far from fifty 
shields in depth, pressed upon the opposing column of only 
eight shields in depth, like the prow of a trireme impelled 
against the midships of an antagonist in a sea-fight. This 
mode of attack was completely successful. Epaminondas 
broke through the Lacedaemonian line, which turned and 
fled, but be himself, pressing on to the attack, at the 
head of his column, was mortally wounded. He 
was pierced with a spear — the handle broke, leaving the 
head sticking in his breast. He at once fell, and his own 
troops gathered around his bleeding body, giving full ex- 
pression to their grief and lamentations. 

Thebes gained, by the battle of Mantinea, the preservation 
of her Arcadian allies and of her anti-Spartan frontier; while 
Sparta lost, beyond hope, her ancient prestige and His great 
power. But the victory was dearly purchased by genius. 
the death of Epaminondas, who has received, and probably 
deserves, more unmingled admiration than any hero whom 
Greece ever produced. He was a great military genius, and 
introduced new tactics into the art of war. He was a true 
patriot, thinking more of the glory of his country than his 
own exaltation. He was a man of great political insight, 
and merits the praise of being a great statesman. He was, 
above all, unsullied by vices, generous, devoted, merciful in 
war, magnanimous in victory, and laborious in Hisciiarao- 
peace. He was also learned, eloquent, and wise, ^^'^' 
ruling by moral wisdom as well as by genius. His death 



250 The BejpvhliG of Thebes, [Chap. xvii. 

was an irreparable loss — one of those great men whom his 
country could not spare, and whose services no other man 
could render. Of modern heroes he most resembles Gusta- 
vus Adolphus. And as the Thirty Years in Germany loses 
all its interest after the battle of Leutzen, when the Swedish 
hero laid down his life in defense of his Protestant brethren, 
80 the Theban contest with Sparta has no great significance 
after the battle of Mantinea. The only great bhmder which 
Epaminondas made was to encourage his countrymen to 
compete with Athens for the sovereignty of the seas. That 
sovereignty was the natural empire of Athens, even as the 
empire of the land was the glory of Sparta. If these two 
powers had been contented with their own peculiar sphere, 
and joined in a true alliance with each other, the empire of 
Greece might have resisted the encroachments of Philip and 
Alexander, and defied the growing ascendency of Rome. 

Shortly after the death of Epaminondas, b. c. 362, the 
Death of greatest man of Spartan annals disappeared from 
Agesiiaus. ^^ stage of history. Agesilaus died in Egypt, 
having gone there to assist the king in his revolt from Persia. 
He also possessed all the great qualities of a prince, a soldier, 
a statesman and a man. He, too, was ambitious, but only to 
perpetuate the power of Sparta. It was his misfortune to 
contend with a greater man, but he did all that was in the 
Death of power of a king of Sparta to retrieve her fortunes, 
Artaxerses. ^ud died deeply lamented and honored. Artaxerxes 
died B. c. 358, after having subdued the revolt of his satraps 
and of Egypt, having reigned forty-five years, and Ochus suc- 
ceeded to his throne, taking his father's name. 

Athens recovered, during the wars between Sj^arta and 
Thebes, much of her former maritime power, and succeeded 
Philip of ^ retaking the Chersonese. But another great 
Macedon. character now arises to our view — Philip of Mace- 
don, who succeeded in overturning the liberties of Greece. 
But before we present his career, that of Dionysius of Syra- 
cuse, deman Is a brief notice, and the great power of Sicily, 
as a Grecian State, during his life. 



CHAPTER XVni. 

DIONTSIUS AND SICILY. 

Wb have already seen how the Athenian fleet was de- 
stroyed at the siege of Syracuse, where Nicias and Demos- 
thenes were so lamentably defeated, which defeat resulted 
in the humiliation of Athens and the loss of her power as the 
leading State of Greece. 

The destruction of this great Athenian armament in Sep- 
tember, B. c. 413, created an intoxication of triumph in the 
Sicilian cities. ISTearly all of them had joined Syracuse, 
except Naxos and Catana, which sided with Athens. Agri- 
gentum was neutral. 

The Syracusans were too much exhausted by the contest 
to push their victory to the loss of the independence of these 
cities, but they assisted their allies, the Lacedse- Syracuse 
monians, with twenty triremes against Athens, Jf^une^of 
under Hermocrates, while Rhodes furnished a still ^i^i^is. 
further re-enforcement, under Dorieus. But the Peloponne- 
sian war was not finished as soon as the Syracusans anti- 
cipated. Even the combined Peloponnesian and Syracusan 
fleets sustained two defeats in the Hellespont. The battle 
of Cyzicus was even still more calamitous, since the Spartan 
admiral Mindarus was slain, and the whole of his fleet was 
captured and destroyed. The Syracusans suffered much by 
this latter defeat, and all their triremes were burned to pre- 
vent them falling into the hands of their enemies, and the 
seamen were left destitute on the Propontis, in the satrapy 
of Pharnabazus. These adverse events led to the disgrace 
of Hermocrates, who stimulated the movement and promised 
what he could not perform. But his conduct had been good, 



252 Dionysius and Sicily. [Chap, xviii. 

and his treatment was unjust and harsh. War recognizes 
only success, whatever may be the virtues and talents of 
the commanders ; and this is one of the worst phases of war, 
when accident and circumstances contribute more to military 
rewards than genius itself. 

The banishment of Hermocrates was followed by the 
triumph of the democratical party, and Diodes, an influential 
Internal citizon, was named, with a commission of ten, to 

condition of . . . -,■,■, mi i 

the city. rcvisc the coustitution and the laws. The laws of 
Diodes did not remain in force long, and were exceeding 
severe in their penalties. But they were afterward revived, 
and copied by other Sicilian cities, and remained in force to 
the Roman conquest of the island. 

The Syracusans then prosecuted war with vigor against 
Naxos, which sided with Athens, until it was brought to a 
The wars of sudden close by an invasion of the Carthaginians, 
*^!3!^^'uT. the ancient foes of Greece. As far back as the 
Carthage. ygj^j, 43Q g q^ — \^^^ jQQx which witnessed the inva- 
sion of Greece by Xerxes — the Carthaginians had invaded 
Sicily, with a mercenary array under Hamilcar, for the purpose 
of reinstating the tyrant of Hiraera, expelled by Theron of 
Agrigentum. The Carthaginian army was routed, and 
Hamilcar was slain by Gelon, the tyrant of Syracuse. This 
defeat was so signal, that it was seventy years before the Car- 
thaginians again invaded Sicily, shortly after the destruction 
of Athenian power at Syracuse. No sooner was the pro- 
tecting naval power of i^thens withdrawn from Greece, than 
the Persians and the Carthaginians pressed upon the Hel- 
lenic world. 

It is singular that so little is known of the early his- 
tory of Carthage, which became the great rival cf Rome. 
„ , It was founded bv the Phcenieians, and became a 

Carthage. . -^ . . r« * i 

considerable commercial city before Athens had 
reached the naval supremacy of Greece. Her possessions 
were extensive on the coast of Africa, both east and west, 
<sompr eh ending Sardinia and the Balearic isles. At the 
maximum of her power, before the first Punic war, the popu- 



Chap. XVIIL] Carthage. 253 

lation was nearly a million of people. It was built on a 
fortified peninsula of about twenty miles in circumference, 
with the isthmus. Upon this isthmus was the citadel Byrsa, 
surrounded with a triple wall, and crowned at its summit 
by a magnificent temple of -^sculapius. It possessed three 
hundred tributary cities in Libya, which was but a small 
part of the great empire which belonged to it in the fourth 
century before Christ. All the towns on the coast, even 
those founded by the Phcenicians, like Hippo and itsmantime 
Utica, were tributary, with the exception of Utica. P"^^*^^- 
Although the Carthaginians were averse to land service, yet 
no less than forty thousand hoplites, with one thousand 
cavalry and two thousand war chariots, marched out from 
the gates to resist an enemy. But the Carthaginian armies 
were mostly composed of mercenaries — Gauls, Iberians, and 
Libyans, forming a discordant host in language and custom. 

The political constitution of Carthage was "oligarchal. 
Two kings were elected annually, and presided over the 
Senate, of three hundred persons, made up from j^g political 
the principal families. The great families divided constitution. 
between them, as in Rome, the offices and influence of the 
State, and maintained an insolent distinction from the 
people. It was an aristocracy, based on wealth, and 
created by commerce, as in Venice, in the Middle Ages. 
There was a demos, or people, at Carthage, who were 
consulted on particular occasions; but, whether numerous 
or not, they were kept in dependence to the rich families 
by banquets and lucrative employments. The government 
was stable and well conducted, both for internal tranquillity 
and commercial aggrandizement. 

The first eminent historical personage was Mago, b. c. 500, 
who greatly extended the dominions of Carthage. Of his 
two sons, Hamilcar was defeated and slain by its eminent 
Gelon of Syracuse. The other son, Hasdrubal, °^^°- 
perished in Sardinia. His sons remained the most powerful 
citizens of the State, carrying on war against the Moors and 



254 Dionysius and Sicily, [Chap, xviii 

other African tribes. Hannibal, grandson of Hamilcar, dis- 
tinguished himself in an invasion of Sicily, b. c. 410, and 
with a large army, of one hundred thousand men, stormed 
and took Selinus, and killed one hundred and sixty thousand 
of the inhabitants, and carried away captive five thousand 
more. He then laid siege to Himera, which he also took, and 
slaughtered three thousand of the inhabitants, in expiation 
of the memory of his grandfather. These were Grecian cities, 
and the alarm throughout Greece was profound for this new 
enemy. These events took place about the time that Hermo- 
crates was banished for an unsuccessful maritime war. Her- 
mocrates afterward attempted to enter Syracuse, but was 
defeated and slain. 

At this period Dionysius appears upon the stage — for the 
next generation the most formidable name in the Grecian 
Dionysius at world. He had none of the advantages of family 
Syracuse. q^, yfQ^\i\^ — "b^^ -^r^s well educated, and espoused the 
cause of Hermocrates, and rose to distinction during the 
intestine commotions which resulted from the death of Her- 
mocrates and the banishment of Diodes, the lawgiver. 

In 406 B. c, Sicily was again invaded by a large force from 
Carthngin- Cartha2:e, estimated bv some writers as high as 

ians invade ,^'_- •'_ T-n 

Sicily. three hundred thousand men, who were chiefly 

mercenaries. Hannibal was the leader of these forces. All 
the Greek cities now prepared for vigorous war. The Syra- 
cusans sent to Sparta and the Italian Greek cities for aid. 
Agrigentum was most in danger, and most alarmed of the 
Greek Sicilian cities. It was second only to Syracuse in 
numbers and wealth, having a population of eight hundred 
thousand people, though this is probably an exaggeration. 
It was rich in temples and villas and palaces ; its citizens 
were wealthy, luxurious, and hospitable. 

The array of Hannibal advanced against this city, which 
was strongly fortified, and re-enforced by a strong body of 
troops from Syracuse, under Daphneus. He defeated the 
Iberian mercenaries, but did not preserve his victory, so that 
the Carthaginians were enabled to take and plunder Agri- 



Chap. XVIII.] Dionysius accepts Peace, 255 

gentura. There was, of course, bitter complaint against the 
Syracnsan generals, who might have prevented this calamity. 
In the discontent which succeeded, Dionysius was elevated 
to the command. He procured a vote to restore p.^^ ^^ 
the Hermocratean exiles, and procured, also, a body Dionysius. 
of paid guards, and established himself as despot of Syracuse ; 
and he arrived at this power by demagogic arts, allying him- 
self with the ultra democratic party. 

Soon after his elevation, the Carthaginians advanced, under 
Himilco, to attack Gela, which was relieved by Dionysius 
with a force of fifty thousand men. Intrenching himself 
between Gela and the sea, opposite the Carthaginians, he 
resolved to attack the invaders, but was defeated Defeated by 
and obliged to retreat, so that Gela fell into the giniaifs'! 
hands of the Carthaginians, who perpetrated their usual 
cruelties. This defeat occasioned a mutiny at Syracuse, and 
his house was plundered of the silver and gold and valuables 
which he had already collected. But he rapidly returned 
to Syracuse, and punished the mutineers, and became master 
of the city, driving away the rich citizens who had vainly 
obstructed his elevation. He abolished every remnant of 
freedom, and ruled despotically with the aid of his mercen- 
aries, and the common people who rallied to his standard. 

It was fortunate for him that the Carthaginians, although 
victors at Gela, made proposals of peace/ which Carthagiai- 

. . - ans make 

were accepted. Dionysius accepted a peace, the peace. 
terms of which were favorable to Carthage, in order to se- 
cure his own power. He betrayed the interests of Sicily to 
an enemy from selfish and unworthy motives. The whole 
south of Sicily was consigned to the Carthaginians, and 
Syracuse to Dionysius. 

Dionysius now concentrated all his efforts to centralize 
aud maintain his power. He greatly strengthened the forti- 
fications of Syracuse. He constructed a new Dionysius 
wall, with lofty towers and elaborate defenses, out- Ws power. 
side the mole which connected the islet Ortygia with Sicily. 
He also erected a citadel. He then had an impregnable 



256 Dionysius and Sicily. [Chap, xvill. 

stronghold, powerful for attack and defense. The fortress 
he erected in the islet of Ortygia he filled with his devoted 
adherents, consisting mostly of foreigners, to whom he as- 
signed a permanent support and residence. He distributed 
anew the Syracusan territory, reserving the best lands for 
his friends, who thus became citizens. By this wholesale 
confiscation he was enabled to support ten thousand mer- 
cenary troops, devoted to him and his tyranny. The con- 
tributions he extorted were enormous, so that in five years 
twenty per cent of the whole property of Syracuse was paid 
into his hands. 

Having thus strengthened his power in Syracuse, he 
Marches marched against the Sikels, in the interior of the 
Sikeis. island. But his absence was taken advantage of 

by the discontented citizens, who attempted to regain their 
freedom. He returned at once to Syracuse, and intrenched 
himself in his fortress, where he was besieged by the insur- 
gents. The tyrant was now driven to desperation, and 
nothing saved him but the impregnable fortifications which 
His critical ^® ^^^ crcctcd. But his situation was so desperate 
condition. ^^i^^ ]^|g adherents melted away, and he began to 
abandon all hope of retaining his position. As a last re- 
source, he purchased the aid of a body of Campanian cavalry, 
in the Carthaginian service, which was stationed at Gela, 
while he amused the Syracusans, to gain time, by a pretended 
submission. They agreed to allow him to depart with five 
triremes, and relaxed the siege, supposing him already sub- 
dued. Meanwhile the Carthaginian mercenaries arrived and 
defeated the Syracusans, already dispersed and divided. 
Dionysius, finding himself rescued and re-established in his 
dominions, strengthened the fortifications of Ortygia, and 
employed his forces, now that Syracuse was subdued, in 
conquering the Grecian cities of Naxos, Catana, and Leon- 
tini. Strengthened at home and in the interior, Dionysius 
then prepared to attack the Carthaginians, but previously 
took measures to insure the defensibility of Syracuse. Six 
thousand persons were employed on a wall three and a half 



Chap. xvtiL] Marriage of Dionysius. 257 

miles in length, from the fort of Trogilus to Euryalus, the 
summit of the slope of Epipolse, a high cliff, which strengthens 
commanded the roads to the city. Six thou- {lonsof'^*^*" 
sand teams of oxen were employed in draw- Syracuse. 
ing the stones from the quarries. This wall was not like 
Ortygia, a guard house against the people of Syracuse, but 
a defense against external enemies. As it w^as a great pub- 
lic work of defense, the citizens worked with cheerfulness 
and vigor, and so enthusiastically did they labor, that the 
work was completed in twenty days. The city being now 
impregnable, he commenced preparations for offensive war, 
and changed his course toward the citizens, pursuing a mild 
and conciliatory policy. He made peace with Messene and 
Rhegium, and married a lady from Locri. He collected all 
the best engineers, mechanics, and artisans from nisvast 
Sicily and Italy, constructed immense machines, |IJ.ep22 
provided arms from every nation around the Medi- *^"°^- 
terranean, so that he collected or fabricated one hundred and 
forty thousand shields and fourteen thousand breastplates, 
destined for his body-guard and officers, together with a 
vast number of helmets, spears, and daggers. All these were 
accumulated in his impregnable fortress of Ortygia. His 
naval preparations were equally stupendous. The docks of 
Syracuse were filled with workmen, and two hundred tri- 
remes were added to the one hundred and ten which already 
were housed in the docks. The trireme was the largest ship 
of war which for three hundred years had sailed in the 
Grecian or Mediterranean waters. But Dionysius con- 
structed triremes with five banks of oars, and had a navy 
vastly superior to what Athens ever possessed. He now 
hired soldiers from every quarter, enlisting Syracusans and 
the inhabitants of the cities depending upon her. He sent 
euA^oys to Italy and the Peloponnesus for recruits, offering 
the most liberal pay. 

When all his preparations were completed, he married, on 
the same day, two wives — the Locrian (Doris), and ji,g 
the Syracusan (Aristomache), and both of these ^^'^^^s®- 
17 



258 Dionysius and Sicily. [Chap. xvin. 

women lived with him at the same table in equal dignity. 
He had three children by Doris, the eldest of whom was 
Dionysius the Younger, and four by Aristomache. When 
his nuptials had been celebrated with extraordinary magnifi- 
cence, and banquets, and fetes, in which the whole popula- 
tion shared, he convoked a public assembly, and exhorted 
the citizens to war against Carthage, as the common enemy 
of Greece, b. c. 397. He then granted permission to plunder 
the Carthaginian ships in the harbor, and shortly after 
Marchps marched out from Syracuse with an army against 
cfutKnt ^^^^ Carthaginians in Sicily, consisting of eighty 
^°^' thousand men, while a fleet of two hundred triremes 

and five hundred transports accompanied its march along 
the coast — the largest military force hitherto assembled un- 
der Grecian command. 

The first place he attacked was Motya, north of Cape 
Lilybseum, in the western extremity of the island, all the 
Grecian cities under Carthaginian leadership having revolted. 
This city was both populous and wealthy, built on an islet, 
„. which was separated from Sicily by a narrow 

His success. J^ . . 

strait two-thirds of a mile in width, bridged over 
by a narrow mole. The Motyans, seeing the approach of 
so formidable an army, broke up their mole, and insulated 
themselves from Sicily. The Carthaginians sent a large fleet 
to assist Motya, under Himilco, but being inferior to that of 
Dionysius, it could not venture on a pitched battle. Motya 
made a desperate defense, but a road across the strait being 
built by the besiegers, the new engines of war carried over 
it were irresistible, the town was at length carried and 
plundered, and the inhabitants slaughtered or sold as slaves. 
The siege occupied the summer, and Dionysius, trium- 
He returns phant, returned to Syracuse. But PIimi!co being 
to Syracuse, elevated to the chief magistracy of Carthage, 
brought over to Sicily an overwhelming force, collected from 
all Africa and Iberia, amountino; to one hundred thousand 
men, afterward re-enforced by thirty thousand more, at the 
low est estimate, with four hundred ships and six hundred 



Chap. XVIII.] Siege of Syracuse. 259 

transports. This army disembarked at Panormns, on the 
northwestern side of the island (Palermo) retook Motya, 
regained Eryx, then marched east and captured Messene, at 
the extreme eastern part of the island near Italy, which 
prevented Dionysius from getting aid from Italy. The 
Sikels also rebelled, and Dionysius, greatly disquieted by the 
loss of all his conquests, and by approaching dangers, 
strengthened the fortifications of Syracuse, to which he had 
retired, and made preparations to resist the enemy. He had 
still a force of thirty thousand foot and three thousand horse, 
and one hundred and eighty ships of war. He sent also to 
Sparta for aid. He then advanced to Catana. His naval 
A naval battle took place off this city, gained by Cutana. 
the Carthaginians, from superior numbers. One hundred 
of the Syracusan ships were destroyed, with twenty thousand 
men, b. c. 395. 

After this defeat, Dionysius retreated to Syracuse with his 
land forces, amid great discontent, and invoked the aid 
of Sparta and Corinth. Himilco advanced also to Himiicoiays 

o 1 M 1 • • ' ' n '11 Biege to 

byracuse, while his victorious fleet occupied the Syracuse. 
great harbor — a much more imposing armament than that 
the Athenians had at the close of the Persian war. The 
total number of A^essels was two thousand. Himilco estab- 
lished his head-quarters at the temple of Zeus Olympius, one 
mile and a half from the city, and allowed his troops thirty 
days for plunder over the Syracusan territory; then he 
established fortified posts, and encircled his camp with a 
wall, and set down in earnest to reduce the city to famine. 
But as he was not master of Epipolas, as Nicias was, 
Syracuse was able to communicate with the country around, 
both west and north, and ialso found means to secure supplies 
by sea. 

Meanwhile the Syracusans defeated a portion of the Car- 
thaojinian fleet, and a terrific pestilence overtook Disasters of 

. . . the Car- 

the army before the city. The military strength thaginians, 
of the Carthaginians was prostrated by the terrible malady, 
which swept away one hundred and fifty thousand persons 



260 Dio7iysiu8 and Sicily. [Chap. XVIII. 

in the camp. When thus weakened and demoralized, the 
Cartliaginians were attacked by the Syracusans, and were 
completely routed. The fleet Avas also defeated and set on 
fire, and the conflagration reached the camp, which was thus 
attacked by 23estilence, fire, and sword. The disaster was 
fatal to the Carthaginians, and retreat was necessary. 
Himilco dispatched a secret envoy to Dionysius, oflering 
three hundred talents if the fleet was allowed to sail away 
unmolested to Africa. This could not be permitted, but 
They retire Imilco and the uativc Carthagrinians were allowed 

from Syra- . . . r* ■, 

cuse. to retire, ihe remaniing part of the army, de- 

prived of their head, was destroyed, with the exception of 
the Sikels, who knew the roads, and made good their 
escape. 

This immense disaster, greater than that the Athenians 
had suflered under Nicias, produced universal mourning and 
distress at Carthage, while the miserable Himilco vainly 
Death of endeavoring to disarm the wrath of his country- 
Himilco. men, shut himself up in his house, and starved 
himself to death. This misfortune led also to a revolt of the 
African allies, which was subdued with difficulty, while the 
power of Carthage in Sicily was reduced to the lowest ebb. 
Dionysius was now left to jDush his conquests in other direc- 
tions, and Syracuse was rescued from impending ruin. 

Dionysius had now reigned eleven years, with absolute 
power. The pestilence, and the treachery of Himilco had 
freed him of the Carthaginians. But a difficulty arose as to 
Financial the jDaymcnt of his mercenaries, which he corapro- 
n^n?"or niised by giving them the rich territory of Leontini, 
Dionysius. g^ ^|^^^ ^^^^ thousaud quitted Syracuse, and took 
up their residence in the town. The cost of maintaining a 
large standing army was exceeding burdensome, and we 
only wonder how the tyrant found means to pay it, and 
prosecute at the same time such great improvements. 

He now directed his attention to the Sikels, in the in-^ 
Makes him- tcrior of the island, and took several of their 

self master /. , •it 

of Messene. towus, but irom ouc of them he met with desperate 



Chap. XVIII.] Dionysius invades Sicily. 261 

resistance, and came near losing his life from a wound by a 
spear which penetrated his cuirass. This repulse caused the 
Carthaginians to rally in the west of the island, under Mago, 
with an army of eighty thousapd. But he was repulsed by 
Dionysius, and concluded a truce with him, which gave the 
latter leisure to make himself master of Messene and Tau- 
rominium — the two most important -maritime posts on the 
Italian side of Sicily, and thus prepare for the invasion of 
the Greek cities in the south of Italy, b. c. 391. 

Dionysius departed from Syracuse, b. c. 389, with a power- 
ful force, to subdue the Italiot Greeks, and laid invades 
siege to Caulonia. He defeated their army, and ^*'^^^- 
slew their general. The victor treated the defeated Greeks 
with lenity, and then laid siege to Rhegium, to which he 
granted peace on severe terms. Caulonia and Hij)ponium, 
two cities whose territory occupied the breadth of the Cala- 
brian peninsula, fell into his hands. Rhegium surrendered 
after a desperate defense, aud Phyton, who commanded the 
town, was treated with brutal inhumanity. The town was 
dismantled, and all the territory of Southern Calabria was 
united to Locri. It was at this time that the peace of Antal- 
eidas took place, which put an end to the Spartan wars in 
Asia Minor. The ascendant powers of Greece were now 
Sparta and Syracuse, each fortified by alliance with the 
other, 

Croton, the largest city in Magna Grecia, was now conquered 
by Dionysius, who plundered the temple of Hera, conquers 
near Cape Lacinium, and among its treasure was a ^^°^^^- 
splendid robe, decorated in the. most costly manner, which 
the conqueror sold to the Carthaginians, which long re- 
mained one of the ornaments of their city. The value and 
beauty of the robe may be estimated at the price paid for it 
— one hundred and twenty talents, more than one hundred 
thousand dollars. 

He now undertook a maritime expedition along the coast 
of Latium and Etruria, and pillaged the rich temple at 
Agylla, stripping it of gold and ornaments to the* value of 



262 Dionysius and Sicily. [Ohap. xvill. 

one thousand talents. So great was the celebrity he ac- 
quired, that the Gauls of Northern Italy, who had recently 
Becomes sacked Rome, proffered their alliance and aid. 
si'nthera Master of Sicily and Southern Italy , he inspired, by 
Italy. jjjg unscrupulous plundering of temples, the great- 

est terror and dislike throughout Central Greece. He then 
entered as competitor at the festivals of Greece for the prize 
of tragic poetry. But so contemptible were his poems, they 
were disgracefully hissed and ridiculed. Especially those 
Hissed at the pocms which wcre recited at Olympia — where he 
games. seut legations decked in the richest garments, fur- 

nished with gold and silver, and provided with splendid 
tents — were received with a storm of hisses, which plunged 
him in an agony of shame and grief, and drove him nearly 
mad, and made him conscious of the deep hatred which 
everywhere existed tovrard him. All his rich displays, 
which surpassed everything that had ever before been seen 
in that holy plain, were worse than a failure — because they 
came from him. Not all his grandeur in Syracuse could save 
him from the disgrace and insults which he had received in 
Olympia. 

It was at this time, b. c. 387, that Plato visited Sicily on 
a voyage of inquiry and curiosity, chiefly to see Mount 
^tna, and was introduced to Dion, then a young 
man in Syracuse, and brother-in-law to Dionysius. 
Dion was so impressed with the conversation of Plato, that 
he invited the tyrant to talk with him also. Plato discoursed 
on virtue and justice, showing that happiness belonged only 
to the virtuous, and that despots could not lay claim even 
to the merit of true courage — most unpalatable doctrine 
to the tyrant, who became bitterly hostile to the philoso- 
pher. He even caused Plato to be exposed in the market as 
a slave, and sold for twenty minse, Avhich his friends paid 
and released him. On his voyage home, through the in- 
fluence of the tyrant, he was again sold at JEgina, and again 
repurchased, and set at liberty. So bitter are tyrants 
of the virtues which contrast with their misdeeds; and 



CnAP, XVIII.] Death of Dionysius, 263 

so vindictive especially was the despot who reigned at 
Syracuse. 

Dionysius was now occupied by the new defenses and for- 
tifications of his capital, so that the whole slope of Power and 

^ ' ^ . wealth of 

Epipolae was bordered and protected by massive Dionysius. 
walls and towers, and five divisions of the city had each its 
separate fortifications, so that it was the largest fortified city 
in all Greece — larger than Athens herself. 

The plunder the tyrant had accumulated enabled him to 
make new preparations for a war with Carthage. But he 
was defeated in a great battle at Cronium, with ^^Ji^Jp*^^^" * 
terrible loss, by the youthful son of Mago, which Carthage, 
compelled him to make peace, and cede to Carthage all the 
teiTJtory of Sicily west of the river Halycus, and pay a tri- 
bute of one thousand talents. 

Very little is recorded of Dionysius after this peace, b. c. 382, 
for thirteen years, during which the Spartans had made them- 
selves master of Thebes, and placed a garrison in Cadmea. 
In the year 368 he made war again with Carthage, but was 
defeated near Lilybseum, and forced to return to ^^^.^ Defeat- 
Syracuse. In the year 367 it would seem that he ^^^ 
was at last successful with his poems, for he gained the prize of 
tragedy at the Lensean festival at Athens, which so intoxi- 
cated him with joy, that he invited his friends to a splendid 
banquet, and died from the effects of excess and Gains apnzo 

. ' ^ for poetry; 

wme, after a reign of thirty-eight years. He was dies from a 
a man of restless energy and unscrupulous ambi- bauchery. 
tion. His personal bravery was great, and he was vigilant 
and long sighted — a man of great abilities, sullied by cruelty 
and jealousy. In his spare time he composed tragedies to 
compete for prizes. No other Greek had ever arrived at so 
great power from a humble position, or achieved so striking 
exploits abroad, or preserved his grandeur so unimpaired at 
his death. But he was greatly favored by fortune, espe- 
cially when the pestilence destroyed the hosts of jj.^ charac- 
Himilco. He maintained his power by intimidation ter. 
of his subjects, careful organization, and liberal pay to his 



264 Dionyslus and Sicily, [Chap. xvilL 

mercenaries. He cared nothing for money excepting as a 
means to secure dominion. His exactions were exorbitant, 
and his rapacity boundless. He trusted no one, and his sus- 
picion was extended even to his wives. He allowed no one 
to shave him, and searched his most intimate friends for con- 
cealed weapons before they were allowed in his presence. 
He made Syracuse a great fortress, to the injury of Sicily and 
Italy, and fancied that he left his dominions fastened by 
chains of adamant. He could point to Ortygia with its 
impregnable fortifications, to a large army of mercenaries— 
to four hundred ships of war, and to vast magazines of arms 
and military stores. 

He left no successor competent to rivet the chains he had 
forged. His son Dionysius succeeded to ., his 
throne at the age of twenty-five. His brother-in- 
law Dion was tlie next prominent member of his family, and 
possessed a fortune of one hundred talents — a man of great 
capacity, ambitious, luxurious, but fond of literature and 
philosophy. He was, however, so much influenced by Plato, 
whose Socratic talk and democratic principles enchained and 
fascinated him, that his character became essentiallv modi- 
lied, and he learned to hate the despotism under which he 
grew up, and formed large schemes for political reform. He 
aspired to cleanse Syracuse of slavery, and clothe her in the 
dignity of freedom, by establishing an improved constitu- 
tional polity, with laws which secured individual rights. 
He exchanged his luxurious habits for the simple fare of a 
philosopher. Never before had Plato met with a pupil who 
so profoundly and earnestly profited from his instructions. 
The harsh treatment which Plato received from the tyrant 
was a salutary warning to Dion. He saw that patience was 
imperatively necessary, and he so conducted as to maintain 
the favor of Dionysius. 

Dionysius II. was twenty-five years old when his father 

Dionysius died, and though he possessed generous impulses, 

was both weak and vain, given to caprice, and 

insatiate of praise. He had been kept from business from the 



Chap. XVIII.] Dionysius II. 265 

excessive jealousy of his father, and his life had been passed 
in idleness and luxury at the palace of Ortygia. His father's 
taste for poetry had introduced guests to his table whose 
conversation opened his mind to generous sentiments, but 
the indecision of his character prevented his profit- jjjg ^^,^^1^ 
ing from any serious studies. Dion supported <^^^iacier. 
this feeble novice on the throne of his father, and tried to 
gain influence over him, and frankly suggested the measures 
to be adopted, and Dionysius listened at first to his wise 
counsels. Dion wished to make Syracuse a free city, with 
good laws, to expel the Carthaginians from Sicily, and 
replant the semi-barbarian Hellenic cities. He also endeav- 
ored to reform the life of Dionysius as well as Syracuse, and 
actually wrought a signal change in his royal pupil, so that 
he desired to see and converse with the great sage who had 
so completely changed the life of Dion, and inspired him 
with patriotic enthusiasm. Accordingly, Plato ^^^^^ ^^gj^.^ 
was sent for, who reluctantly consented to visit Syracuse. 
Syracuse. He had no great faith in the despot who sought, 
his wisdom, and he did not wish, at sixty-one, to leave his 
favorite grove, with admiring disciples from every part of 
Greece, where he reigned as monarch of the mind. He 
went to Syracuse, not with the hope so much of converting 
a weak tyrant, as from unwillingness to desert his friend, 
and be taunted with the impotence of his philosophy. He 
was received with great distinction at court, and a royal 
carriage conveyed him to his lodgings. The banquets of the 
Acropolis became distinguished for simplicity, and the royal 
pupil commenced at once in taking lessons in geometry. 
The old courtiers were alarmed, and disgusted. " A single 
Athenian sophist," they said, " with no force but his tongue 
and reputation, has achieved the conquest of Syracuse." 
Dionysius seemed to have abdicated in favor of Plato, and 
the noble objects for which Dion labored seemed to be on 
the way of fulfillment. But Plato acted injudi- His injudi- 
ciously, and spoiled his influence by unreasonable ings. 
vigor. It was absurd to expect that the despot would go 



266 Dionysius and Sicily. [Chap. xvni. 

to school like a boy, and insist upon a mental regeneration 
before he gave him lessons of practical wisdom in politics. 
All the necessary reforms were postponed on the ground 
that the royal pupil was not yet ripe for them, and every 
influence was exerted to show him his own un worthiness 
— that his whole j)ast life had been vicious — delicate ground 
for any teacher to assume, since he irritated rather than re- 
formed. He was even averse to any political changes until 
Dionysius had gone through his schooling. Plato also 
maintained a proud, philosophical dignity, showing no 
respect to persons, and refusing to the defects of his pupil 
any more indulgence than he granted to those who listened 
to his teachings at home. 

Such a mistake was attended soon with difficulties. The old 
courtiers recovered their influence. Dion was calumniated 
and slandered, as seeking to usurp the sovereign powers, and 
that Plato was brought to Syracuse as an agent in the con- 
spiracy. Plato tried to counterwork this mischief, but in 
vain. Dionysius lost all inclination to reform, and Dion was 
hated, for he was superior to his nephew in dignity and 
ability, and was haughty and austere in his manners. He 
Banishment ^^^^ accordingly bauishcd from Syracuse, and 
of Dion. Plato was retained in the Acropolis^ but was other- 
wise well treated, and entreated to remain. The tyrant, 
however, refused to recall Dion, but consented to the depar- 
Second visit ^urc of Plato. Another visit to Syracuse, which 
of Plato. jjg made with the hope of securing the recall of 
Dion, was a splendid captivity, and although he was treated 
with extraordinary deference, he was not at rest until he 
obtained jDcrmission to depart. He had failed in his mission 
of benevolence and friendship. All the vast possessions of 
Dion were confiscated, and Plato had the mortification to 
hear of this injury in the very palace to which he went as a 
reformer. 

Incensed at the seizure of his property, and hopeless of 
Dion in permission to return, and of all those reforms which 
exile; j^g }jg^(j projected, Dion now meditated the over- 



Chap. XVIII.] Dion in Exile. 267 

throw of the power of Dionysius, and his own restoration at 
the point of the sword. During his exile he had Meditates 
chiefly resided in Athens, enjoying the teaching thn.wof' 
of his friend Plato, and dispensing his vast wealth '^'^y^ms. 
in generous charities. N"or did Plato fully approve of his 
plans for the overthrow of Dionysius, anticipating little good 
from such violence, although he fully admitted his wrongs. 
But other friends, less judicious and more interested, warmly 
seconded his projects. With aid from various sources, he 
at last could muster eight hundred A^eterans, with wliich he 
ventured to attack the most powerful despot in Greece, and 
in his own strono-hold. And so enthusiastic was Dion, all 
disparity of forces was a matter of indiiference. Moreover, 
he accounted it glory and honor to perish in so just and 
noble a cause as the liberation of Sicily from a weak and 
cruel despot, every way inferior to his father in character, 
though as strong in resources. 

But the friends of Dion did not dream of throwing away 
their lives. They calculated on a rising of the Syracusans 
to throw off an insupportable yoke, and they had utter con- 
tempt for the tyrant himself, knowing his drunken habits, 
and eifeminate character, and personal incomj^etency. So, 
after ten years' exile, Dion, with his followers. He lands in 
landed in Sicily, at Heracleia, also in the absence ^*^''>'- 
of Dionysius, who had quitted Syracuse for Italy, with 
eighty triremes, so that the city was easy of access. 

This unaccountable mistake of the tyrant in leaving his 
capital at such a crisis, was regarded with great joy by the 
small army of Dion, which marched out at once from Hera- 
cleia, and was joined in the Agrigentian territory with two 
hundred liorsemen. As he approached Syracuse, other bands 
joined liim, so that he had five thousand men as he approached 
the capital. Timocrates, the husband of Dion's late wife, 
for his wife was taken away from him, was left in command 
at Syracuse with a large force of mercenaries. But as Dion 
advanced to the city, there was a general rising of the citi- 
zens, and Timocrates was obliged to return, leaving the fort- 



268 Dionysius in Sicily. [Chap, xviil 

resses garrisoned. Dion entered the city by the principal 
Enters Syra- street, which was decorated as on a day of jubilee, 
amph. and proclaimed liberty to all. He was also chosen 

general, with his brother Megacles, and approached Ortygia, 
and challenged the garrison to come out and fight. He then 
succeeded in capturing EpipolsB and Euryalse, those fortified 
quarters, and erected a cross wall from sea to sea to block 
up Ortygia. 

At the end of seven days, when all these results had been 
accomplished, Dionysius returned to Syracuse, but Orty- 
gia was the only place which remained to him, and that, 
too, shut up on the land side by a blockading wall. The rest 
of the city was in possession of his enemies, though those 
Demands enemies were subjects. His abdication was imper- 
ticni^of ^^°'' atively demanded by Dion, who refused all concil- 
Dionybius. j^tion and promises of reform. Rallying, then, his 
soldiers, he made a sally to surprise the blockading wall, 
and was nearly successful, but Dion, at length, repulsed his 
forces, and recovered the wall. Ortygia was again block- 
aded, but as Dionysius was still master of the sea, he ravaged 
the coasts for provisions, and maintained his position, until 
the arrival of Heraclides, with a Peloponnesian fleet, gave 
the Syracusans a tolerable naval force. Philistus commanded 
the fleet of Dionysius, but in a battle with Heraclides, he 
lost his life. 

Dionysius now lost all hope of recovering his power by 
Dionysius forcc, and resorted to intrisrues, stimulatinor the 

resorts to . ' . 

intrigues. rivalry of Heraclides, and exposing the defects 
of Dion, whose arrogance and severity were far from making 
him popular. Calumnies now began to assail Dion, and he 
was mistrusted by the Syracusans, who feared only an 
exchange of tyrants. There was also an unhappy dissension 
between Dion and Heraclides, which resulted in the deposi- 
TT,,^-,,.,,!.- tion of Dion, and he was forced to retreat from 

Unpopular- ' 

ity of Dion. Syracuse, and seek shelter with the people of Leon* 
tini, who stood by him. Dionysius again had left Ortygia 
for Italy, leaving his son in command, and succeeded in 



Chap, xvui.] Dion's Ilistakes, 269 

sending re-enforcements from Locri, under N^ypsius, so that 
the garrison of Ortygia was increased to ten thousand men, 
with ample stores. Nypsius sallied from the fortress, mas- 
tered the blockading wall, and entered Neapolis and Achra- 
dina, fortified quarters of the city. The Syracusans, in dis- 
tress, then sent to Leontini to invoke the aid of Dion, who 
returned as victor, drove Nypsius into his fortress, and saved 
Syracuse. He also magnanimously pardoned Heraclides,' 
and prosecuted the blockade of Ortygia, and was again 
named general. Still Heraclides, who was allowed to com- 
mand the fleet, continued his intrigues, and frustrated the 
operations against Dionysius. At last, Ortygia surrendered 
to Dion, who entered the fortress, where he found Bnt Ortygia 
his wife and sister, from whom he had been sepa- to him. 
rated twelve years. At first, Arete, his wife, who had con- 
sented to marry Timocrates, was afraid to approach him, but 
he received her with the tenderest emotion and afiection. 
His son, however, soon after died, having fallen into the 
drunken habits of Dionysius. 

Dion was now master of Syracuse, and on the pinnacle of 
power. His enterprise had succeeded against all Dion master 
probabilities. But prosperity, which the Greeks of Syracuse. 
weie never able to bear, poisoned all his good qualities and 
exaggerated his bad ones. He did not fall into the luxury 
of his predecessors. He still wore the habit of a philosopher, 
and lived with simplicity, but he made public mis- jjjg ^^.g. 
takes. His manners, always haughty, became *^*^'^^' 
repulsive. He despised popularity. He conferred no real 
liberty. He retained his dictatorial power. He preserved 
the fortifications of Ortygia. He did not meditate a per- 
manent despotism, but meant to make himself king, with a 
modified constitution, like that of Sparta. He had no popular 
sympathies, and sought to make Syracuse, like Corinth, com- 
pletely oligarchal. He took no step to realize any measure 
of popular freedom, and, above all, refused to demolish the 
fortress, behind whose fortifications the tyrants of Syracuse 
had intrenched themselves in danger. He also caused Hera- 



270 Dionysins and Sicily. [Chap. xvm. 

elides to be privately assassinated, so that the Syracusans 
began to hate him as cordially as they had hated Dionysius. 
This unpopularity made him irritable, and suspicious and dis- 
quieted. A conspiracy, headed by Callippus, put an end to 
his reign. He was slain by the daggers of assassins. 
Thus perished one of the noblest of the Greeks, but 
without sufficient virtue to bear success. His great defect 
was inexperience in government, and it may be doubted 
whether Plato himself could have j^reserved liberty in so 
His charac- (^oirupt a City as Syracuse. The character of Dion 
*®'^- also changed greatly by his banishment, since vin- 

dictive sentiments were paramount in his soul. He had a 
splendid opportunity of becoming a benefactor to his country, 
but this was thrown away, and instead of giving liberty he 
only ruled by force, and moved from bad to worse, until he 
made a martyr of the man whom once he magnanimously 
forgave. Had he lived longer, he probably would have 
proved a remorseless tyrant like Tiberius. So rare is it 
for men to be temperate in the use of power, and so much 
easier is it to give expression to grand sentiments than prac- 
tice the self-restraint which has immortalized the few Wash- 
ingtons of the world. 

The Athenian Callippus, who overturned Dion, remained 
master of Syracuse for more than a year, but its condition 
was miserable and deplorable, convulsed by passions and 
Dionjsius hostile interests. In the midst of the anarchy 

recovers . , 

Oi-tygia. v/hich prevailed, Dionysius contrived to recover 
Ortygia, and establish himself as despot. The Syracusans 
endured more evil than before, for the returned tyrant had 
animosities to gratify. There was also fresh danger from 
Carthage, so that the Syracusans appealed to their mother 
Syracuse ^'^7? Corinth, for aid. Timoleon was chosen as the 
theai?of general of the forces to be sent — an illustrious citi- 
Corinth. ^eu of Corinth, then fifty years of age, devoted to 
the cause of liberty, with hatred of tyrants and wrongs, who 
Timoiertn had even slain his brother when he trampled on the 

Bent as , _ 

general. liberties of Corinth — and a brother whom he loved. 



CHAP.xvin.] Timoleon. 271 

But he was forced to choose between him and his coun- 
try, and he chose his country, securing the gratitude of 
Corinth, but tlie curses of his mother and tlie agonies of self- 
reproach, so that he left for years the liaunts of men, and 
buried himself in the severest solitude. Twenty years 
elapsed from the fratricide to his command of a force to re- 
lieve the Syraeusans from their tyrant Dionysius. 

Timoleon commenced his preparations of ships and soldiers 
with alacrity, but his means were scanty, not equal even to 
those of Dion when he embarked on his expedition. He was 
prevented with his small force from reacljing Sicily by a Car- 
thamnian fleet of superior force, but he effected his t,. . 

^ i ' ills wonder- 

purpose by stratagem, and landed at Tauromenium ^^^ successes. 

under great discouragements. He defeated Hicetas, who 
had invoked the aid of Carthage, at Adranum, and marched 
unimpeded to the walls of Syracuse. Dionysius, blocked 
up at Ortygia, despaired of his position, and resolved to sur- 
render the fortress, stipulating for a safe conveyance and 
shelter at Corinth, This tyrant, broken by his drunken 
habits, did not care to fight, as his father did, for a sceptre 
so difficult to be maintained, and only sought his ease and 
selfindulgence. So he passed into the camp of Timoleon 
with what money he could raise, and the fortress was sur- 
rendered. A re-enforcement from Corinth enabled Timoleon 
to maintain his ground. 

The appearance of the fallen tyrant in Corinth produced a 
great sensation. Some from curiosity, others from Dionysius 

, . , . . an exile in 

sympathy, and still more from derision, went to corinih. 
see a man who had enjoyed so long despotic power, now 
suing only for a humble domicile. But his conduct, consid- 
ering his drunken habits, was marked by more dignity than 
was to be exjDCCted from so weak a man. He is said to have 
even opened a school to teach boys to read, and to have in- 
structed the public singers in reciting poetry. His career, at 
least, was an impressive commentary on the mutability of 
fortune, to which the Greeks were fully alive. 

Timoleon, in possession of Ortygia, with its numerous 



272 Dionysius and Sicily. [Chap. xvilL 

stores, found himself a"ble to organize a considerable force to 
oppose tlie Carthaginians who sought to get possession of 
the fortress. Hicetas, now assisted by a Carthaginian force 
under Mago, attacked Ortygia, but was defeated by the 
Corinthian Neon, who acquired Achradina, and joined it by 
a wall to Ort^'-gia. But Mago now distrusted Hicetas, and 
Timoieonde- Suddenly withdrew his army. Timoleon thus be- 
SroiShoid^o^f <^^™6 master of Syracuse, and Hicetas was obliged 
tyranny. ^^ retire to Leoutini. Timoleon ascribed his good 
fortune to the gods, but purchased a greater hold on men's 
minds than fortune gave him by his moderation in the hour 
of success — a striking contrast to Dion and the elder Dionys- 
ius. He invited the Svracusans to demolish the strono;hold 
of tyranny, where the despots had so long intrenched them- 
His noble sclvcs. He erected courts of iustice on its site. He 

admlnistra- ... 

lion. recalled the exiles, and invited new colonists to 

the impoverished city, so that sixty thousand immigrants 
arrived. He relieved the poverty and distress of the people 
by selling the public lands, and employed his forces to expel 
remaining despots from the island. 

But Hicetas again invited the Carthaginians to Sicily. 
They came, with a vast array of seventy thousand men and 
twelve hundred ships, under Hasdrubal and Hamilcar, b. c. 
340. Timoleon could only assemble twelve thousand to meet 
this overwhelming force, but with these he marched against 
His great ^^ Carthaginians, and gained a great victory, by 
thfcartbl!'" ^^ ^^^ ^^ ^ terrible storm which pelted the Car- 
gmiana. thaginians in the face. No victory was ever more 
complete than this at Crimisus. Ten thousand of the invad- 
ers were slain, and fifteen thousand made prisoners, together 
with an enormous spoil. 

Timoleon had now to deal with two Grecian enemies — - 
Hicetas and Mamercus — tyrants of Leontini and Catana. 
Over these he gained a complete victory, and put them 
He lays to death. He then, after having delivered Svra- 

dOWn his tt/> ti. . t^tt •^ ' 

power. cuse, and defeated his enemies, laid down his 

power, and became a private citizen. But' his influence re- 



Chap. Xviu.] Death of Timoleon. 273 

mained, as it ought to have been, as great as ever, for he was 
a patriot of most exalted virtue, a counselor whom all could 
trust — a friend who sacrilSced his own interests. And he 
exerted his influence for the restoration of Syracuse, for the 
introduction of colonists, and the enforcement of wise laws. 
The city was born anew, and the gratitude and admiration 
of the citizens were unbounded. In his latter years he be- 
came blind, but his presence could not then even be spared 
when any serious difficulty arose — ruling by the moral power 
of wisdom and sanctity — one of the best and loftiest charac- 
ters of all antiquity. And nothing was more remarkable than 
his patience under contradiction, and his eagerness to insure 
freedom of speech, even against himself. 

Thus, by the virtues and wisdom of this remarkable man^ 
were freedom and comfort diffused throughout Sicily for 
twenty-four years, until the despotism of Agath- His death 
ocles. Timoleon died b. c. 337 — a father and ter. 
benefactor — and the Syracusans solemnized his funeral with 
lavish honors, which was attended by a countless procession, 
and passed a vote to honor him for all future time with fes- 
tive matches, in music and chariot-races, and such gymnas- 
tics as were practiced at the Grecian games. A magnificent 
monument was erected to his memory. "The mournful let- 
ters written by Plato after the death of Dion contrasts 
strikingly with the en^able end of Timoleon, and with the 
grateful inscription of the Syracusans on his tomb." 



18 



CHAPTER XIX. 



PHILIP OF MACEDON. 



No ONE would have supposed, b. c. 400, that the destruc- 
tion of Grecian liberties would come from Macedonia — a 
Unexpected scmi-barbarous Idnsjdom which, durins; the ascend- 

riseolMace- „ ^ ■,- -, ,. . , . 

donia. encj 01 feparta, had so little political importance. 

And if any new power threatened to rise over the ruins of the 
Spartan State, and become paramount in Greece, it was 
Thebes. The successes of PelojDidas and Epaminondas had 
effectually weakened the jDOwer of Sparta. She no longer 
enjoyed the headship of Greece. She no longer was the 
leader of dependent allies, submitting to her dictation in all 
external politics, serving under the officers she appointed, 
administering their internal affairs by oligarchies devoted to 
her purposes, and even submitting to be ruled by governors 
whom she put over them. She had lost her foreign auxiliary 
force and dignity, and even half of her territory in Laconia. 
The Peloponnesians, who once rallied around her were 
disunited, and Megalopolis and Messene were hostile. 
Corinth, Sicyon, Epidaurus, and other cities, formerly allies, 
stood aloof, and the grand forces of Hellas now resided out- 
side of the Peloponnesus. Athens and Thebes were the new 
seats of power. Athens had regained her maritime supre- 
macy, and Thebes was formidable on the land, having 
absorbed one-third of the Boeotian territory, and destroyed 
three or four autonomous cities, and secured powerful allies 
in Thessaly. 

When the battle of Mantinea* was fought, at which Epami- 
nondas lost his life, Perdiccas, son of Amyntas, was the king 
of Macedonia. He was slain, in the flower of his life, in a 



Chap. XIX.] Revolt of Lesbos. 275 

battle with the Illyrians, b. c. 359. On the advice of Plato, 
who had been his teacher, he was induced to be- pjj.|. ^^ 
8tow upon his brother Philip a portion of territory Macedon. 
in Macedonia, who for three years preceding had been living 
in Thebes as a hostage, carried there by Pelopidas at fifteen 
years of age, when he had reduced Macedonia to partial sub- 
mission. 

At Thebes the young prince was treated with courtesy, 
and resided with one of the principal citizens, and ^hWrn at 
received a good education. He was also favored Thebes, 
with the society of Pelopidas and Epaminondas, and wit- 
nessed with great interest the training of the Theban forces 
by these two remarkable men — one the greatest organizer, 
and the other the greatest tactician of the age. When trans- 
ferred from Thebes to a subordinate government of a district 
in his brother's kingdom, he organized a military force on 
the principles he had learned in Thebes. The unexpected 
death of Perdiccas, leaving an infant son, opened to him the 
prospect of succeeding to the throne. He first assumed the 
government as guardian of his young nephew Amyntas, but 
the difficulties with which he was surrounded, having many 
competitors from other princes of the family of Amyntas, in- 
duced him to assume the crown, putting to death one of his 
half-brothers, while the other two fled into exile. 

His first proceeding as king was to buy the Thracians, his 
enemies, by presents and promises, so that only the Athenians 
and the Illyrians remained formidable. But he surrender of 
made peace with Athens by yielding up Amphipo- Amphipohs. 
lis, for the possession of which the Athenians had made war 
in Macedonia. 

The Athenians, however, neglected to take possession of 
Amphipolis, being engaged in a struggle to regain the island 
of Euboea, then under the dominion of Thebes. It also hap- 
pened that a revolt of a large number of the islands Revolt from 

-, _, 1.T11T r> 1 Athens of 

ot the ^gean, which belonged to the confederacy Lesbos, chi- 
ef which Athens was chief, took place— Lesbos, &c. 
Chios, Samos, Cos, and Rhodes, including Byzantium. This 



276 Philip of Macedon. [Chap. xix. 

revolt is called the social war, caused by the selfishness of 
Athens in acting more for her own interest than that of her 
allies, and neglecting to pay the mercenaries in her service. 
The revolt was also stimulated by the intrigues of the Carian 
prince, Mausolus. But it was a serious blow to the foreign 
ascendency of Athens, and in a battle to recover these islands, 
the Athenians, under Chabrias, were defeated at Chios. 
They were also unsuccessful on the Hellespont from quar- 
rels among their generals — Timotheus, Iphicrates, and Chares. 
The popular voice at Athens laid the blame of defeat on the 
two former unjustly, in consequence of which Timotheus was 
fined one hundred talents, the largest fine ever imposed at 
Death of Athens, and shortly after died in exile — a distin- 
Timotheus. guished man, who had signally maintained the 
honor and glory of his country. Iphicrates also was never 
employed again. The loss of these two generals could scarcely 
be repaired. Soon after, peace was made with the revolted 
cities, by which their independence and autonomy were 
guaranteed. This was an inglorious result of the war to 
Athens, and fatally impaired her ]30wer and dignity, so that 
she was unable to make a stand against the aggressions of 
Philip. 

One of the first things he did after defeating the Illyrians 
Philip lays was to lav sicffe to Amphipolis, althousrh he had 

Biege to Am- ,n,.*, ^ ■, • , i 

phipoiis. ceded the city to Athens. Jbor this treachery there 
was no other reason than ambition and the weakened power 
of Athens. Amphipolis had long remained free, and was 
not disposed to give up its liberties, and sent to Athens for 
aid. Philip, an arch politician, contrived by his intrigues to 
prevent Athens from giving assistance. The neglect of 
Athens was a great mistake, for Amphipolis commanded the 
passage over the Strymon, and shut up Macedonia from the 
east, and was, moreover, easily defensible by sea. Deprived 
Fall of the of aid from Athens, the city fell into the hands of 
«ty- Philip, and was an acquisition of great importance. 

It was the most convenient maritime station in Thrace, and 
threw open to him all the country east of the Strymon, and 



Chap. XIX.] The Sacved War, 277 

especially the gold region near Mount Pangseus. This place 
henceforward became one of the bulwarks of Macedonia, 
until the Koman conquest. 

Having obtained this place, he commenced, without a dec- 
laration of war against Athens, a series of hostile measures, 
while he professed to be her friend. He deprived her of her 
hold upon the Thermaic Gulf, conquered Pydna DapUcity of 
and Potidaea, and conciliated Olynthus. His I'^i^ip- 
powder was thus so far increased that he founded a new city, 
called Philippi, in the regions where his gold mines yielded 
one thousand talents yearly. He then married Olympias, 
daughter of a prince of the Molossi, who gave birth, in the 
year b. c. 356, to a son destined to conquer the world. 

The capture of Amphipolis by Philip was, of course, fol- 
low^ed by war with Athens, which lasted twelve -vvarwith 
years. And this war commenced at a time Athens -^^^^^^s. 
was in great embarrassments, owing to the social war. 

But he was aided by another event of still greater import- 
ance — the sacred war, which for a time convulsed rp^^ &a.Gved. 
the Hellenic world, and which grew out of the '^''^^• 
accusation of Thebes, before the Amphictyonic Council, that 
Sparta had seized her citadel in time of profound peace. The 
sentence of the council, that Sparta should pay a fine of five 
hundred talents, was a departure from Grecian custom, and 
Sparta refused to pay it, which refusal led to her exclusion 
from the council, the Delphic temple, and the Pythian 
games, and this exclusion again arrayed the different States 
of Greece against each other, as to the guardianship of the 
Oracle itself. 

Philip of Macedon seized this opportunity, when so many 
States were engaged in war, to prosecute his schemes. He 
attacked Methone, the last remaining possession of Athens 
on the Macedonian coast, and captured the city, and then 
advanced into Thessaly against the despots of Pherse, who 
invoked the aid of Onomarchus, now very powerful. 

It was at this time, b. c. 353, that Demosthenes, the orator, 
appeared before the Athenian people. He was about twenty- 



278 Philip of Macedon, [Chap. xix. 

seven years of age, and the wealth of his father secured him 
D o - gi'eat advantages in education. His father died 
thenes. while he was young, and his property was confid- 

ed to the care of guardians, named in his father's will. But 
they administered the property with such negligence, that 
only a small sum came to Demosthenes when he attained his 
civil majority, at the age of sixteen. After repeated com- 
plaints, he brought a judicial action against one of the guar- 
dians, and obtained verdict against him to the extent of ten 
talents. But the guardian delayed the payment, and De- 
mosthenes lost nearly all his patrimony. He had, however, 
received a good education, and in spite of a feeble constitu- 
tion, he mastered all the learning of the age. His family 
influence enabled him to get an early introduction to public 
affairs, and he proceeded to train himself as a speaker, and a 
writer of speeches for others. He put himself under the 
teaching of a famous rhetorician, Isseus, and profited by 
„. the discourses of Plato and Isocrates, then in the 

His accom- 
plishments, height of their fame. He also was a great student 

of Thucydides, and copied his whole history, with his own 
hand, eight times. He still had to contend against a poor 
voice, and an ungraceful gesticulation ; but by unwearied 
labor he overcame his natural difficulties so as to satisfy the 
most critical Athenian audience. But this conquest in self- 
education was only made by rejDeated trials and humiliations, 
and it is said he even spoke with pebbles in his mouth, and 
prepared himself to overcome the noise of the Assembly by 
declaiming in stormy weather on the sea-shore. He sometimes 
passed two or three months in a subterranean chamber, 
practicing by day and by night, both in composition and dec- 
lamation, such pains did those old Greeks take to perfect 
themselves in art ; for public speaking is an art, as well as 
literary composition. He learned Sophocles by heart, and 
took lessons from actors even to get the true accent. It was 
several years before he was rewarded with success, and then 
his delivery was full of vehemence and energy, but elaborate 
and artificial. But it was not mere labor which made De- 



Chap. XIX.] Demostlienes, 279 

mosthenes the greatest orator of antiquity, and perhaps, of 
all ages and nations, but also natural genius. His self- 
training merely developed the great qualities of which he 
was conscious, as was Disraeli when he made his early fail- 
ures in Parliament. Without natural gifts of eloquence, he 
might have worked till doomsday without produc- jj.g ^^^^^ 
ing the extraordinary effect which is ascribed to eioineuce. 
him, for his speeches show great insight, genius, and natural 
force, as well as learning, culture, and practice; so that they 
could be read like the speeches of Burke and Webster, with 
great effect. He had great political sagacity, moral wisdom, 
elevation of sentiment, and patriotic ardor, as well as art. 
He would have been great, if he had stammered all his life. 
He composed speeches for other great orators before he 
had confidence in his own eloquence. 

In contrast with Demosthenes, who was rich, was Phocion, 
who remained poor, and would receive neither money nor 
Sfifts. He went barefoot, like Socrates, and had 

^ . . ' Phocion. 

only one female slave in his household, was per- 
sonally incorruptible, and also brave in battle, so that he 
was elected to the office of strategus, or general, forty-five 
times, without ever having solicited place or been present at 
the election. He had great contempt of fine speeches, yet 
was most effective as an orator for his brevity, good sense, 
and patriotism, and despised the " warlike eloquence, un- 
warlike despotism, paid speech-writing, and delicate habits 
of Demosthenes." 

This Athenian, with Spartan character and habits, was 
opposed to the war with Philip, and was therefore the lead- 
ing: opponent of Demosthenes, Avhose foresisrht and Different po- 

^ . ^ , -, T . , , r. 1 li<^y of these 

sagacity led him to penetrate the schemes oi the two leaders. 
Macedonian king. But the Athenians were generally in- 
duced to a peace policy in degenerate times, and did not 
sympathize with the lofty principles which Demosthenes 
declared, and hence the influence of Phocion, though of com- 
manding patriotism and morality, was mischievous, while that 
of Demosthenes was good. The citizens of Athens, enriched 



280 Fhilvp of Macedoiu [Chap. xix. 

by commerce and enervated by leisure, were at this time 
averse to the burdens of military service, and formed a striking 
contrast to their ancestors one hundred years earlier, in the 
time of Pericles. In the time of Demosthenes, they sought 
home pleasures, the refinements of art, and the enjoyments 
of cultivated life, not warlike enterprises. And this decline 
in military spirit was equally noticeable in the cities of the 
Peloponnesus. And hence the cities of Greece resorted to 
mercenaries, like Carthage, and intrusted to them the de- 
fense of their liberties. The warlike spirit of ancient Sparta 
and Athens now was pre-eminent in Macedonia, where the 
people were poor, hardy, adventurous and bold. 

It was against these warlike Macedonians, rude and hardy, 
that the refined Athenians were now to contend, led by a 
prince of uncommon military talents and insatiable ambition, 
and who joined craft to bravery and genius. Demosthenes 
in vain invoked the ancient spirit which had inspired the 
heroes of Marathon. 

In the year 353 b. c, Philip attacked Lycophron, of Pherae, 
in Thessaly. Onomarchus, then victorious over the Thebans, 
Conquests of advauccd agaiust Philip, and defeated him in two 
Thessaly. battlcs, SO that the Macedonian army withdrew 
from Thessaly. But Philip repaired his losses, marched 
again into Thessaly, defeated the Phocians, and slew Ono- 
marchus. His conquest of Pheras was now easy, and he 
rapidly made himself master of all Thessaly, and expelled 
Lycophron. He then marched to Thermopylae, to the great 
Threatens alarm of Athens, which sent a force to resist him, 

Central . „ . 

Greece. which forcc succeedcd m defending the pass, and 
keeping Philip, for a time, from entering Southern Greece. 
The Phocians also rallied, again availed themselves of the 
treasure of Delphi, and melted down the golden ornaments 
and vessels which Crcesus, the Lydian king, had given one hun- 
dred years before, among which were three hundred and 
sixty golden goblets, from the proceeds of which a new 
army of mercenaries was raised. 
The power of Philip was now exceedingly formidable, and 



Chap. XIX.] Successes of PMllp. 281 

his successes inspired great alarm throughout Greeee, as 
would appear from the first Philippic of Demos- No generals 
tnenes, dehvered m b. c. 352. i>ut the Urrecian with him. 
States had no general able to cope with him on the land, 
while he created a navy to annoy the Athenians at sea. 
For a time, however, the efforts of Philip were diverted 
from Southern and Central Greece, in order to conquer the 
Olynthians. They were his neii^hbors, and had Philip 

,,. IT ,, ,. A.1 A, • conquers the 

been his allies ; but the expulsion oi the Athenians oiynthians. 
from the coast of Thrace and Macedonia now alarmed the 
Olynthians, together with the increasing power of Philip, so 
that they concluded a treaty of peace with Athens. Hos- 
tilities broke out in the year 350 b. c, and Demosthenes put 
forward all his eloquence to excite his countrymen to vigor- 
ous war. Athens, partially aroused, sent a body of* mer- 
cenaries to the assistance of Olynthus, one of the most 
flourishing of the cities of Chalcidice, southeast of Macedonia. 
But before effective aid could be rendered, the island of 
Euboea, through the intrigues of Philip, revolted Eevoit of 
from Athens. It was in an expedition to recover ^^^°^^- 
that island that Demosthenes served as a hoplite in the army, 
under Phocion as general. It was not till the summer of 
B. c. 348 that this territory was recovered by Athens. In the 
year following, Athens made great exertions in behalf of 
Olynthus, and amid great financial embarrassments. Three 
expeditions were sent into Chalcidice, under the command of 
Chares, numbering altogether four thousand Athenians and 
ten thousand mercenaries. But they were powerless against 
the conquering arms of Philip, who completely Kava^^ea of 
overran and devastated the peninsula, taking thir- ^^^'^p- 
ty-two cities, and selling the people for slaves. At last 
Olynthus fell, b. c. 347, and the spoils of this old Hellenic city 
were divided among the soldiers of the conqueror, who 
celebrated his victories by a splendid festival. 

No such calamity had befallen Greece for a century as the 
conquest of Chalcidice, and it filled Athens with unspeakable 
alarms. uEschines, the rival of Demosthenes as an orator, 



282 Philip of Macedon. [Chap. xix. 

now -joined with liim in denouncing Philip as the common 
enemy of Greece. Aristodemus was sent to him with propo- 
sitions of peace, and Philip professed to entertain them 
favoi-ably, with his characteristic duplicity. 

Meanwhile the sacred war had impoverished the Phocians, 
and there were dissensions among themselves. Their temple 
The temple of Delphi had already been stripped of the enor- 

of Dc-IpM ^ 111! -IT 

robbed. mous sum or ten thousand talents, eleven million 

five hundred thousand dollars, probably equal in our times 
to two hundred and thirty million dollars ; so that it must 
have been richer, when the relative value of gold and silver 
is considered, than any church in Christendom. The treas- 
ures of the temple, enriched for three hundred years by offer- 
ings from all parts of the world, still enabled the Phocians 
to maintain war with Thebes. At last the Thebans invoked 
the aid of Philip, and a Macedonian army, under Parmenio, 
advanced as far as Thessaly. But the Phocians, in alarm, 
entreated both Sparta and Athens for assistance. The 
crisis was great, for if Philip should once secure the Pass of 
Thermopylae, all Southern Greece was in imminent danger. 
The whole defense of Greece now turned upon this Pass, of as 
much importance to Philip as to Athens and Sparta, for it 
was the only road into Greece. Envoys were again sent 
from Athens to Philip, to learn on what conditions peace 
could be secured, among whom were Demosthenes and ^s- 
chines. But he would grant no better terms than that each 
party should retain what they already possessed, and the 
Encroach- Athenians consented. Philip reaped all the ad- 

ments of i • i i • i 

Philip. vantages of a peace, which gave him the possession 

of the cities and territory he had taken. The Phocians were 
left out in the negotiations, a fatal step, since it required the 
united forces of all the States to hinder the further encroach- 
ments of the Macedonian king. He had now leisure for the 
completion of the conquest of Thrace. When this was com- 
His dupiici- pletcd, he marched toward Therinopylge, which was 
trigiies. held by the Phocians, carefully veiling his real in- 

tentions, and even pretending that his advance to the south 



Chap. XIX.] Philip Master of ThermopylcB. 283 

was for the purpose of reconstituting the Boeotian cities and 
putting down Thebes. His real object was to surprise the 
Pass, for he was a man who had very little respect to treaties, 
promises, or oaths. All this while he contrived to deceive 
Athens and the Phocians, with the connivance of ^schines, 
whom he had bribed or cheated. But he did not deceive 
Demosthenes, who entreated his countrymen to make a stand 
against him, even at the eleventh hour, for he was then with- 
in three days' march of the Pass. But the eloquence and 
warnings of Demosthenes were in vain. The people went 
with JEschines, who persuaded them that Philip was friendly 
to Athens and only hostile to Thebes. It was the design of 
Philip to detach Athens from the Phocians, and thus make his 
conquest easier ; and he succeeded by his filsehoods and in- 
trigues. Under these circumstances, the Phocians Philip ob- 

1 1 . -Tin -T 1 1 • 1 1 1 tains posses- 

surrendered to Fhilip the pass, which they ought sion or the 

to have defended at all hazard, and the king re- mopyije. 
tired to Phocis, but still professed the greatest friendship for 
Athens, with whom he made peace. 

Master now of Phocis, with a triumphant army, he openly 
joined the Thebans and restored the Temple of Delphi to its 
inhabitants, and convoked the Amphictyonic Council, which 
dispossessed the Phocians of their place in the ^^^j 
assembly, and conferred it upon Philip. The 5Jg^^T ^^ ^ 
unhappy Phocians were now reduced to a state of Greece. 
utter ruin. Their towns were dismantled, and their villages 
were not allowed to contain over fifty houses each. They 
were stripped, and slain, and their fields laid waste. Philip 
was now master of the keys of Greece, and the recognized 
leader of the Amphictyonic Council. Athens had secured 
an inglorious peace with her enemy, through the corruption 
of her own envoys, b. c. 346, and was soon to reap the penalty 
of her credulity and indolence. She allowed herself to be 
deceived, and Philip, in co-operation with Thebes, the enemy 
of Athens, presentl}'- threw off the mask and disgracefully re- 
newed the war with Athens. He had gained his object by 
bribery and falsehood. It is mournful that the Athenians 



284 Philijp of Macedon, [Chap. xix. 

should not have listened to the warnino^s of the most sasja- 
cious patriot who adorned those degenerate times, but the 
influence of ^schines was then paramount, and he was sold 
to Philip. He cried peace, when there was no peace. The 
great error of Athens was in not rendering timely assist- 
ance to the Phocians, who possessed the Pass of Thermopylae, 
although they had brought upon themselves the iudignation 
of Greece by the seizure of the Delphic treasures. 

The victories and encroachments of Philip, within the line 
Lamenta- of common Grecian defense, were profoundly 

tions of De- . -, -, -r^ , t , r> , , • 

mosthenes. lamented by Demosthenes, and he now leit that it 
was expedient to keep on terms of peace with so powerful 
and unscrupulous and cunning a man. Isocrates wished 
Philip to reconcile the four great cities of Greece, Sparta, 
Athens, Thebes, and Argos, put himself at the head of their 
united forces, and Greece generally, invade Persia, and 
liberate the Asiatic Greeks. But this was putting the 
Hellenic world under one man, and renouncinc^ the inde- 
pendence of States and the autonomy of cities — the great 
principles of Grecian policy from the earliest historic times, 
and therefore a complete subversion of Grecian liberties, and 
the establishment of a centralized power under Philip, whose 
patrimonial kingdom was among the least civilized in 
Greece. 

The peace between Philip and Athens lasted, without any 
Philip's formal renunciation, for six years, during which 
encroach- ^^^ Macedonian king pursued his aggressive 
meiits. policy and his intrigues in all the States of Greece. 

His policy was precisely that of Rome when it meditated 
the conquest of the world, only his schemes were confined 
chiefly to Greece. Every year his power increased, while the 
States of Greece remained inactive and uncombined — a proof 
of the degeneracy of the times — certainly in regard to self- 
sacrifices to secure their independence. Demosthenes plainly 
His insatiate ^^^ ^^® approaching absorptiou of Greece in the 
ambition. Macedonian dominion, unless the States should 
unite for common defense; and he took every occasion 



Chap. XIX.] Demosthenes arouses Athens. 285 

to denounce Philip, not only in Athens, but to the envoys 
of the diflferent States. The counsels of the orator were 
a bitter annoyance to the despot, who sent to Athens 
letters of remonstrance. 

At last an occasion was presented for hostilities by the 
refusal of the Athenians to allow Philip to take posses^ 
sion of the island of Halicarnassus, claiming the island as 
their own. Reprisals took place, and Philip demanded 
the possession of the Hellespont and Bosphorus, and the 
Greek cities on their coast, of the greatest value to Athens, 
since she relied upon the possession of the straits for the 
unobstructed importation of corn. The Athenians now 
began to realize the encroaching ambition of Philip, and 
to listen to Demosthenes, who, about this time, Athens at 
B. c. 341, delivered his third Philippic. From {y^D™^!^ 
this time to the battle of Chseronea, the influence thenes. 
of Demosthenes was greater than that of any other man 
in Athens, which too late listened to his warning voice. 
Through his influence, Euboea was detached from Philip, 
and also Byzantium, and they were brought into alli- 
ance with Athens. Philip was so much chagrined that 
he laid siege to Perinthus, and marched through the 
Chersonese, which was part of the Athenian territory, upon 
which Athens declared war. Philip, on his side, issued a 
manifesto declaring his wrongs, as is usual with conquerors, 
and announced his intention of revenge. The Athenians 
fitted out a fleet and sent it under Chares to the Helles- 
pont. Philip prosecuted, on his part, the siege of Perin- 
thus, on the Propontis, with an army of thirty g,^^^ ^f 
thousand men, with a great number of military I'ennthus. 
engines. One of his movable towers was one hundred 
and twenty feet high, so that he was able to drive away 
the defenders of the walls by missiles. He succeeded in 
driving the citizens of this strong town into the city, and it 
would have shared the fate of Olynthus, had it not been 
relieved by the Byzantine and Grecian mercenaries. Philip 
was baffled, after a siege of three months, and turned his 



286 Philip of Macedon. [Chap. xix. 

forces against Byzantium, but this town was also relreved by 
the Athenians, and the inhabitants from the islands of the 
^gean. These operations lasted six months, and were the 
greatest reverses which Philip had as yet met with. A vote 
of thanks was decreed by the Athenians to Demosthenes, 
who had ^timjilated these enterprises. Philip was obliged 
Philip with- to withdraw from Byzantium, and retreated to 

draws from i i ci i • * • f • ^ 

jByzaniiuti), attacK the fecythiaus. An important reiorm m the 
administration of the marine was effected by Demosthenes, 
although opposed by the rich citizens and by ^schines. 

While these events transpired, a new sacred war was de- 
Another clarcd by the Amphictyonic Council against the 
sacred war. LocHans of Ampliissa, kindled by JEschines, which 
more than compensated Philip for his repulse at Byzantium, 
bringing advantage to him and ruin to Grecian liberty. But 
the Athenians stood aloof from this suicidal war, when all 
the energies of Greece were demanded to put down the 
encroachments of Philip. As w^as usual in these intestine 
troubles, the weaker party invoked the aid of a foreign 
Ruinous to powcr, and the Amphictyonic Assembly, intent on 
erties! punishliig Amphissa, sought assistance from Philip. 

He, of course, accepted the invitation, and marched south 
through Thermopylae, proclaiming his intention to avenge 
the Delphian god. In his march he took Nicsea from the 
Thebans, and entered Phocis, and converted Elatea into a 
permanent garrison. Hitherto he had only proclaimed him- 
self as a general acting under the Amphictyonic vote to 
avenge the Delphian god, — now he constructed a military 
post in the heart of Greece. 

Thebes, ever since the battle of Leuctra, had been opposed 
Alliance of to Athcus, and cvcu now unfriendly relations 

Thebes and . . . i -rn m* i i 

Athens. cxistcd between the two cities, and Philip hoped 

that Thebes would act in concert with him against Athens. 
But this last outrage of Philip exceedingly alarmed Athens, 
and Demosthenes stood up in the Assembly to propose 
an embassy to Thebes with offers of alliance. His advice 
was adopted, and he was dispatched with other envoys to 



CiiAP. XIX.] Battle of Chceroiiea. 287 

Thebes. The Athenian orator, in spite of the influence 
of the Macedonian envoys, carried his point with the Theban 
Assembly, and an alliance was formed between Thebes and 
Athens. The Athenian army marched at once to Thebes, 
and vigorous measures were made at Athens for the 
defensive war which so seriously threatened the loss of 
Grecian liberty. The alliance was a great disappointment to 
Philip, who remained at Phocis, and sent envoys to Sparta, 
inviting the Peloponnesians to join him against Amphissa. 
But the Thebans and Athenians maintained their ground 
against him, and even gained some advantages. Among 
other things, they reconstituted the Phocian towns. The 
Athenians and their allies had a force of fifteen thousand 
infantry and two thousand cavalry, and Demosthenes was 
the war minister by whom these forces were col- Renewed 
lected. These efforts on the, part of Thebes and ™SSsP,T 
Athens led to renewed preparations on the part I'^i'ip- 
of Philip. He defeated a large body of mercenaries, and took 
Amphissa. Unfortunately, the Athenians had no general 
able to cope with him, and it was the work of Demosthenes 
merely to keep up the courage of his countrymen and incite 
them to effort. 

. At last, in the month of August, Philip, with thirty thou- 
sand foot and two t-housand horse, met the allied Greeks at 
Chseronea, the last Boeotian town on the frontiers „ ,., . 

' Joattle of 

of Phocis. The command of the armies of the chseronea. 
allies was shared between the Thebans and Athenians, but 
their movements were determined by a council of civilians 
and generals, of which Demosthenes was the leading spirit. 
Philip, in this battle, which decided the fortunes of Greece, 
commanded the right wing, opposed to the j^.^ decisive 
Athenians, and his son Alexander, the left wing, character. 
opposed to the Thebans. The Macedonian phalanx, or- 
ganized by Philip, was sixteen deep, with veteran soldiers 
in the front. Th6 Theban " Sacred Band" was overpowr 
€red and broken by its tremendous force, much increased 
by the long pikes which projected in front of the foremost 



288 PJdlijp of Macedon. [Chap. xix. 

soldiers. But the battle was not gained by the phalanx 
„ , . alone. The orojanization of the Macedonian army 
phalanx. ^r^g perfect, with many other sorts of troops, body- 
guards, light hoplites, light cavalry, bowmen, and slingers. 
One thousand Athenians were slain, and two thousand more 
were made captives. The Theban loss was still greater. 

Unspeakable was the grief and consternation of Athens, 
when the intelligence reached her of this decisive victory. 
Desperate A rcsolutiou was at ouce taken for a vigorous 

in^fistir6S of 

Athens. defense of the city. All citizens sent in their con- 
tributions, and every hand was employed on the fortifica- 
tions. The temples were stripped of arms, and envoys were 
sent to various places for aid. 

Thebes was unable to rally, and fell into the hands of the 
Fall of victors, and a Macedonian garrison was placed in 

Thebes. the Cadmea, or citadel. From Athens, envoys 
were sent to Philip for peace, which was granted on the con- 
dition that he should be recognized as the chief of the Hel- 
lenic world. It was a great humiliation to Athens to con- 
cede this, after having defeated the Persian hosts, and keep- 
ing out so long all foreign domination. But times had 
changed, and the military spirit had fled. 

Athens was not prostrated by the battle of Chseronea. 
She still retained her navy, and her civic rights. Thebes 
was utterly prostrated, and never rallied again. 

Philip, having now subjugated Thebes, and constrained 
Athens into submission, next proceeded to carry his arms 
into the Peloponnesus. He found but little resistance, except 
Philip in- in Laconia. The Corinthians, Argeians, Messen- 
Pe'iopo^n- ians, Elians, and Arcadians submitted to his 
nesus. power. Even Sparta could make but feeble resist- 

ance. He laid waste Laconia, and then convened a congress 
of Grecian cities at Corinth, and announced his purpose to 
undertake an expedition against the king of Persia, avenge 
the invasion of Greece by Xerxes, and liberate the Asiatic 
Greeks. A large force of two hundred thousand foot and 
fifteen thousand horse was promised him, and all the States 



Chap. XIX.] Death of Philip. 289 

of Greece concurred, except Sparta, which hehl aloof from 
the congress. Athens was required to furnish a ^.^^^^^^^^ ^ 
well equipped fleet. All the States, and all the !;^;y„g^J""®^®^ 
islands, and all the cities of Greece, were now P'^i-sians. 
subservient to Philip, and no one State could exercise control 
over its former territories. 

It was in the year b. c. 337, that this great sclienie for the 
invasion of Persia was concerted, which created no general 
enthusiasm, since Persia was no longer a power to be feared. 
The only power to be feared now was Macedonia. While 
preparations were going on for this foolish and unnecessary 
expedition, the prime mover of it was assassinated, and his 
career, so disastrous to Grecian liberty, came to an ^^ 
end. It seems that he had repudiated his wife, I'hii'p. 
Olympias, disgusted with the savage impulses of her charac- 
ter, and married, for his last wife, for he liad several, Cleo- 
patra, which provoked bitter dissensions among the partisans 
of the two queens, and also led to a separation between him- 
self and his son Alexander, although a reconciliation after- 
ward took place. It was while celebrating the marriage of 
his daughter by Olympias, with Alexander, king of Epirus, 
and also the birth of a son by Cleopatra, that Pausanias, 
one of the royal body-guard, who nourished an implacable 
hatred of Philip, chose his opportunity, and stabbed him 
with a short sword he had concealed under his garment. 

Alexander, the son of Philip by Olympias, was at once 
declared king, whose prosecution of the schemes of his father 
are to be recounted in the next chapter. Philip perished at 
the age of forty-seven, after a most successful reign of 
twenty-three years. On his accession he found his 

I • / • -. -r* ,1 Alexander. 

kmgdom a narrow territory around 1 ella, ex- 
cluded from the sea-coast. At his death the Macedonian 
kingdom was the most powerful in Greece, and all the States 
and cities, except Sparta, recognized its ascendency. He 
had gained this great power, more from the weakness and 
dissensions of the Grecian States, than from liis own strength, 
great as were his talents. He became the arbiter of Greece 

19 



290 Philip of Macedon. [Chap. xix. 

by unscrupulous perjury and perj^etual intrigues. But he 
was a great organizer, and created a most efficient army. 
Without many accomplishments, he affected to be a patron of 
both letters and religion. His private life was stained by 
Character of drunkenness, gambling, perfidy, and wantonness. 
Philip. jjjg -^iygg and mistresses were as numerous as those 

of an Oriental despot. He was a successful man, but it must 
be borne in mind that he had no opponents like Epaminondas, 
or Agesilaus, or Iphicrates. Demosthenes was his great oppo- 
nent, but only in counsels and speech. The generals of Athens, 
and Sparta, and Thebes had passed away, and with the decline 
of military spirit, it is not remarkable that Philip should 
have ascended to a heio^ht from which he saw the Grecian 
world suppliant at his feet. 



CHAPTEE XX* ; 

ALEXANDER THE GKEAT. 

We come now to consider briefly the career of Alexander, 
the son of Philip — the most successful, fortunate, and bril- 
liant hero of antiquity. I do not admire either Alexander 
his character or his work. He does not compare ^^^ G'eat 
with Caesar or Kapoleon in comprehensiveness of genius, 
or magnanimity, or variety of attainments, or posthumous 
influences. He was a meteor — a star of surprising magni- 
tude, which blazed over the whole Oriental world with 
unprecedented brilliancy. His military genius was doubt- 
less great — even transcendent, and his fame is greater than 
his genius. His prestige is wonderful. He conquered the 
world more by his name than by his power. Only two men, 
among military heroes, dispute his pre-eminence in the his- 
tory of nations. After more than two thousand years, his 
glory shines with undiminished brightness. His conquests 
extended over a period of only twelve years, yet they were 
greater and more dazzling than any man ever made before in a 
long reign. Had he lived to be fifty, he might have subdued 
.the whole world, and created a universal empire equal to that 
of the Caesars — which w^as the result of five hundred years' 
uninterrupted conquests by the greatest generals of a mil- 
itary nation. Thouo;h we neither love nor reverence Alex- 
ander, we can not withhold our admiration for his almost 
superhuman energy, courage, and force of will. He looms 
up as one of the prodigies of earth — yet sent by ggjj|. ^y • 
Providence as an avenger — an instrument of pun- J^,X>'a^""reae 
ishment on those effeminated nations, or rather ^'''^- ' 
dynasties, which had triumphed over human misery. I look 



292 Alexander the Great. [Chap. xx. 

upon his career, as the Christians of the fifth century looked 
upon that of Alaric or Attila, whom they called the scourge 
of God. 

His conquests and dominions were, however, prepared by 
Which was one perhaps greater than himself in creative srenius, 

Erepared by . . 

is lather, and as unscrupulous and cruel as he. Philip found 

his kingdom a little brook ; he left it a river — broad, deep, and 

grand. Under Alexander, this river became an irresistible 

torrent, sweeping every thing away which impeded its 

course. Philip created an army, and a military system, and 

generals, all so striking, that Greece succumbed before him, 

and yielded up her liberties. Alexander had only to follow 

out his policy, which was to subdue the Persians. The 

Extent of Persian empire extended over all the East — Asia 

the Persian ^_. o • -r-i •!-> -i • -r. t i • -nr 

empire. Miuor, byria, Jigypt, Parthia, Babylonia, Mesopota- 
mia, Armenia, Bactria, and other countries — the one hundred 
and twenty provinces of Nebuchadnezzar and Cyrus, from the 
Mediterranean to India, from theEuxine and Caspian Seas to 
Arabia and the Persian Gulf — a monstrous empire, whose 
possession was calculated to inflame the monarchs who 
reigned at Susa and Babylon with more than mortal pride 
and self-sufficiency. It had been gradually won by success- 
ive conquerors, from rJ^imrod to Darius. It was the gradual 
absorption of all the kingdoms of the East in the successive 
Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian empires — for these three 
empires were really one under different dynasties, and were 
ruled by the same precedents and principles. The various 
kingdoms which composed this empire, once independent, 
yielded to the conquerors who reigned at Babylon, or 
Nineveh, or Persepolis, and formed satrapies paying tribute 
to the great king. The satraps of Cyrus were like the 
satraps of Nebuchadnezzar, members or fiiends of the im- 
perial house, who ruled the various provinces in the name of 
the king of Babylon, or Persia, without much interference with 
the manners, or language, or customs, or laws, or religion of 
the conquered, contented to receive tribute merely, and 
troops in case of war. And so great was the accumulation 



Chap. XX.] Aspirations of Philip. 293 

of treasure in the various royal cities where the king resided 
part of the year, that Darius left behind him on Thoaccumu^ 
his flight, in Ecbatana alone, one hundred and iici>es in 
eighty thousand talents, or two hundred million cities!^ ^ 
dollars. It was by this treasure that the kings of Persia 
lived in such royal magnificence, and with it they Ave.re able 
to subsidize armies to maintain their power throughout their 
vast dominions, and even gain allies like the Greeks, when 
they had need of their services. Their treasures were inex- 
haustible — and were accumulated with the purpose of main- 
taining empire, and hence were not spent, but remained as 
a sacred deposit. 

It was to overthrow this empire that Philip aspired, after 
he had conquered Greece, in part to revenge the Philip had 

• .. •/!• -It 1 -r>' • • T aspired tO 

injuries innicted by the Persian invasions, but ovirtum 
more from personal ambition. And had he lived, pire. 
he would have succeeded, and his name would have been 
handed down as the great conqueror, rather than that of his 
more fortunate son. Philip knew what a rope of sand the 
Persian military power was. Xenophon had en- Knowing ua 
lightened the Greeks as to the inefficiency of the weaivn'ess. 
Persian armies, if they needed any additional instruction 
after the defeat of Xerxes and his generals. The vast armies 
of the Persians made a grand show, and looked formidable 
when reviewed by the king in his gilded chariot, surrounded 
by his nobles, the princes of his family, and the women of 
his liarem. And these armies were sufficient to keep the 
empire together. The mighty prestige attending victories 
for one thousand years, and all the pomp of millions in battle 
array, was adequate to keep the province together, for the 
system of warfare and the character of the forces were 
similar in all the provinces. It Avas external enemies, with 
a different system of warfare, that the Persian kings had to 
dread — not the revolt of enervated States, and un warlike 
cities. The Orientals were never warlike in the sense that 
Greece and Rome were. The armies of Greece and Rome 
were small, bat efficient. It was seldom that any Grecian 



294 Alexander the Great. [Chap. xx. 

0r Roman army exceeded fifty thousand men, but they were 
\?eterans, and they had military science and skill and dis- 
cipline. The hosts of Xerxes or Darius were undisciplined, 
anid they were mercenaries, unlike the original troops of 
Pyrus. 

Now it was the mission of Alexander to overturn the dy- 
But this nasties which reigned so ingloriously on the banks 
Bferved^for' ^f the Euphrates — to overrun the Persian empire 
Alexander. f^-Qj^ north to south and east to west — to cut it up, 
and form new kingdoms of the dismembered provinces, and 
distribute the hoarded treasures of Susa, Persepolis, and 
Ecbatana — to introduce Greek satraps instead of Persian — 
to favor the spread of the Greek language and institutions — 
to found new cities where Greeks might reign, from which 
they might diffuse their spirit and culture. Alexander spent 
only one year of his reign in Greece, all the rest of his life 
was spent in the various provinces of Persia. He was the 
Who was the couqucror of the Oriental world. He had no hard 
throriTntai battles to fight, like Caesar or Napoleon. All he 
world. j-^^^ ^Q ^^ ^,^^ ^^ appear with his troops, and the 

enemy fled. Cities were surrendered as he approached. The 
t-wo great battles which decided the fate of Persia — Issus 
and Arbela — were gained at the first shock of his cavalry. 
Darius fled from the field, in both instances, at the very 
l^eginning of the battle, and made no real resistance. The 
greater the number of Persian soldiers, the more disorderly 
was the rout. The Macedonian soldiers fought retreating 
sirmies in headlono; flicfht. The slauofhter of the Persians 
was mere butchery. It was something like collecting a vast 
number of birds in a small space, and shooting them when 
collected in a corner, and dignifying the slaughter with a 
grand name — not like chasing the deer over rocks and hills. 
Whatconsti- The military genius of Alexander was seen in the 
miiuary^ siegc of the fcw towus which did resist, like Tyre 
genius. ^j^^ Gaza; in his rapid marches; in the combina- 

tion of his forces ; in the system, foresight, and sagacity 
be displayed, conquering at the right time, marching upon 



Chap. XX.] Early Life of Alexander. 295 

the right place, husbanding his energies, wasting no time ih' 
expeditions which did not bear on the main issue, and con- 
centrating his men on points which were vital and import- 
ant. Philip, if he had lived, might have conquered the 
Persian empire ; but he would not have conquered so rapidly- 
as Alexander, who knew no rest, and advanced from con- 
quering to conquer, in some cases without ulterior objects, 
as in the Indian campaigns — simply from the love and' 
excitement of conquest. He only needed time. He met no 
enemies who could oppose him — more, I apprehend, from the 
want of discipline among his enemies, than from any irresisti- 
ble strength of his soldiers, for he embodied the it was his 
conquered soldiers in his own army, and they fought ?onqn?r,^not 
like his own troops, when once disciplined. Nor reconstruct 
did he dream of reconstruction, or building up a great central 
power. He would, if he had lived, have overrun Arabia, 
and then Italy, and Gaul. But he did not live to measure 
his streno-th with the Romans. His mission was ended when: 
he had subdued the Persian world. And he left no succes-' 
sor. His empire was divided among his generals, and new 
kingdoms arose on the ruins of the Persian empire. 

" Alexander was born b. c. 356, and like his father, Philip, . 
was not Greek, but a Macedonian and Epirot, only gjg e^riy 
partially imbued with Grecian sentiment and in- ^^s*^"'^^- 
telligence." He inherited the ambition of Philip, and the 
violent and headstrong temperament of his furious mother,' 
Olympias. His education was good, and he was instructed 
by his Greek tutors in the learning common to Grecian princes. 
His taste inclined him to poetry and literature, rather than to 
science and philosophy. At thirteen he was intrusted to 
the care of the great Aristotle, and remained under his teach- 
ing three years. At sixteen he was left regent of the Mace- 
donian kingdom, whose capital was Pella, while his father 
was absent in the siege of Byzantium. At eighteen he com- 
manded one of the wings of the army at the battle of Chae- 
ronea. His prospects were uncertain up to the very day 
when Philip was assassinated, on account of family dissen- 



296 Alexander the Great. [Chap. xx. 

sions, and the wrath of his father, whom he had displeased. 
But he was proclaimed king on the death of Philip, b. c. 336, 
and celebrated liis funeral with great magniiicence, and slew 
his fathers' murderers. The death of Philip had excited 
aspirations of freedom in tne Grecian States, but there was 
no combination to throw off the Macedonian yoke. Alex- 
ander well understood the discontent of Greece, and his first 
pbject was to bring it to abject submission. With the army 
of his father he marched from State to State, compelling sub- 
mission, and punishing with unscrupulous cruelty all who 
His con- I'esisted. After displaying his forces in various 
Gn-cian^ *^® portions of the Peloponnesus, he repaired to Corinth 
Sutes. ^jj(j convened the deputies from the Grecian cities, 

and was chosen to the headship of Greece, as his father, 
Philip, had been. He was appointed the keeper of the 
peace of Greece. Each Hellenic city was declared free, and 
in each the existing institutions were recognized, but no new 
despot was to be established, and each city was forbidden to 
send armed vessels to the harbor of any other, or build 
vessels, or engage seamen there. Such was the melancholy 
degradation of the Grecian world. Its freedom was extin- 
guished, and there was no hope of escaping the despotism 
of Macedonia, but by invoking aid from the Persian king. 
Had he been wise he would have subsidized the Greeks with 
a part of his vast treasures, and raised a force in Greece able 
to cope with Alexander. But he was doomed, and the 
Macedonian king was left free to complete the conquest of 
all the States. He first marched across Mount Hsemus, and 
subdued the Illyrians, Pseonians, and Thracians. He even 
crossed tlie Danube, and defeated the Getse. 

Just as he had completed the conquest of the barbarians 
north of Macedonia, he heard that theThebans had declared 
neanniM- their independence, being encouraged by his long 
Theban^ abscncc in Thrace, and by reports of his death, 
power. -g^j^ j^g suddenly appeared with his victorious 

army, and as the Thebans had no generals equal to Pelopi- 
das and Epaminondas, they were easily subdued, Thebes 



Chap. XX.] Severity of Alexander in Thehes. 297 

was taken by assault, and the population was massacred — 
even women and children, whether in their houses or in 
temples. Thirty thousand captives were reserved for sale. 
The city was razed to the ground, and the Cadmea alone 
was preserved for a Macedonian garrison. The Theban terri- 
tory was partitioned among the reconstructed cities of Or- 
chomenus and Platsea. This severity was unparal- Moral eifect 

, , T . , , . f, ^ , , , of his merci- 

leled m the history oi (jrreece, but the remorseless less severity. 
conqueror wished to strike with terror all other cities, and 
prevent rebellion. He produced the effect he desired. All 
the cities of Greece hastened to make peace with so terrible 
an enemy. He threatened a like doom on Athens because 
she refused to surrender the anti-Macedonian leaders, includ- 
ing Demosthenes, but was finally appeased through the in- 
fluence of Phocion, since he did not wish to drive Athens to 
desperate courses, which might have impeded his contem- 
plated conquest of Persia, for the city was still strong in 
naval defenses, and might unite with the Persian king. So 
Athens was spared, but the empire of Thebes was utterly 
destroyed. He then repaired to Corinth to make arrange- 
ments for his Persian campaign, and while in that jj^ is master 
city he visited the cynical philosopher, Diogenes, ^^ ^'■e^*'®- 
who lived in a tub. It is said that when the philoso- 
pher was asked by Alexander if he wished any thing, he 
replied : " Nothing, except that you would stand a little 
out of my sunshine " — a reply which extorted from the 
conqueror the remark : " If I were not Alexander, I would 
be Diogenes." 

It took Alexander a year and a few months to crush out 
what little remained of Grecian freedom, subdue Prepares to 
the Thracians, and collect forces for his expedition sia. 
into Persia. In the spring of 334 b. c, his army was mustered 
between Pella and Amphipolis, while his fleet was at hand 
to render assistance. In April he crossed the strait from 
Sestos to Abydos, and never returned to his own capital— 
Pella — or to Europe. The remainder of his life, eleven years 
and two months, was spent in Asia, in continued and incrcaa- 



298 Alexander the Great. [Chap. xx. 

ing conquests ; and these were on such a gigantic scale that 
Greece dwindled into insiscnificance. 

When marshalled on the Asiatic shore, the army of Alex- 
He marshals andcr presented a total of thirty thousand infantry, 

Ills forces in "" 

Asia. and four thousand five hundred cavalry — a small 

force, apparently, to overthrow the most venerable and 
extensive empire in the world. But these troops were 
veterans, trained by Philip, and commanded by able gene- 
tals. Of these troops twelve thousand were Macedonians, 
armed with the sarissa, a long pike, which made the phalanx, 
sixteen deep, so formidable. The sarissa was twenty-one 
feet in length, and so held by both hands as to project fifteen 
His phalanx ^et before the body of the pikeman. The soldier 
a?morofhis of the phalaux ,was also provided with a short 
troops. sword, a circular shield, a breastplate, leggings, 

and broad-brimmed hat. But, besides the phalanx of heavy 
armed men, there were hoplites lightly armed, hypaspists for 
the assault of walled places, and troops with javelins and with 
bows. The cavalry was admirable, distributed into squad- 
rons, among whom were the body-guards — all promoted out 
of royal pages and the picked men of the army, sons of the 
chief people in Macedonia, and these were heavily armed. 

The generals who served under Alexander were all Mace- 
„. , donians, and had been trained by Philip. Amonsj 

His generals. ' . . , 

these were Hephsestion, the intimate personal 
friend of Alexander, Ptolemy, Perdiccas, Antipater, Clitus, 
Parmenio, Philotas, Nicanor, Seleucus, Amyntas, Philipus, 
Lysimachus, Antigonus, most of whom reached great power. 
Parmenio and Antipater were the highest in rank, the latter 
of whom was left as viceroy of Macedonia. Eumenes was 
the private secretary of Alexander, the most long-headed 
man in his army. 

'•- Alexander had landed, unopposed, against the advice of 
IVIemnon and Mentor — two Rhodians, in the service of 
Alexander is Darius, the kins^ — descendants of one of the bro- 

Tinobstruct- 

cd In cross- thers of Artaxcrxcs Mnemon — the children of King 

ii)g the Uel- -, , . . . , . ,, , 

lespont. Uchus, alter nis assassmation, bavmg all been 



Chap. XX.] Battle of the Granicus. 299 

murdered by the eunuch Bagoas. As the Persians were 
superior by sea to the Macedonians, it was an imprudence to 
allow Alexander to cross the Hellespont without opposition ; 
but Memnon was overruled by the Persian satraps, who sup- 
posed that they were more than a match for Alexander on 
the land, and hoped to defeat him. Arsites, the Phrygian 
satrap, commanded the Persian forces, assisted by ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ 
other satraps, and Persians of high rank, among Persians. 
whom were Spithridates, satrap of Lydia and Ionia. The 
cavalry of the Persians greatly outnumbered that of the 
Macedonians, but the infantry was inferior. Memnon 
advised the satraps to avoid fighting on the land, and 
to employ the fleet for aggressive movements in Mace- 
donia and Greece, but Arsites rejected his advice. The 
Persians took post on the river Granicus, near the town 
of Parium, on one of the declivities of Mount Ida. Al- 
exander at once resolved to force the passage of the river, 
taking the command of the right wing, and giving the 
left to Parmenio. The battle was fought by the cavalry, in 
which Alexander showed great personal courage, sattieofthe 
At one time he was in imminent danger of his life, ^^^amcus. 
from the cimeter of Spithridates, but Clitus saved him by 
severing the uplifted arm of the satrap from his body with 
his sword. The victory was complete, and great numbers of 
the satraps were slain. There remained no force in Asia 
Minor to resist the conqueror, and the Asiatics submitted in 
terror and alarm. Alexander then sent Parmenio to subdue 
Dascyleum, the stronghold of the satrap of Phrygia, while he 
advanced to Sardis, the capital of Lydia, and the main station of 
the Persians in Asia Minor. The citadel was considered im- 
pregnable, yet such was the terror of the Persians, that both 
city and citadel surrendered without a blow. Phrygia and 
Lydia then fell into his hands, with immense treasure, of 
which he stood in need. He then marched to Eph- Alexander 
esus, and entered the city without resistance, and wUh^Eir 
thus was placed in communication with his fleet, ^^^ ' 
under the command of Nicanor. He found no opposition 



800 . Alexander the Great. [Chap. xx. 

until he reached Miletus, which was encouraged to resist 
him from the approach of the Persian fleet, four hun- 
dred sail, chiefly of Phoenician and Cyprian ships, which, a 
few weeks earlier, might have prevented his crossing into 
Asia. But the Persian fleet did not arrive until the city was 
invested, and the Macedonian fleet, of one hundred and sixty 
sail, had occujiied the harbor. Alexander declined to flght on 
the sea, but pressed the siege on the land, so that the Persian 
fleet, unable to render assistance, withdrew to Halicarnassus. 
jFaii of ^^^ city fell, and Alexander took the resolution of 

Miletus. disbanding his own fleet altogether, and concen- 
trating all his operations on the land — doubtless a wise, but 
desperate measure. He supposed, and rightly, that after 
he had taken the cities on the coast, the Persian fleet 
would be useless, and the country would be insured to his 
army. 

Alexander found some difficulty at the siege of Halicarnas- 
sus, from the bravery of the garrison, commanded by Mem- 
non, and the strength of the defenses, aided by the Persian 
The siege of fleet. But his soldicrs, " protected from missiles by 

Halicarnas- ^ , , n t • t n 

BUS. movable pent-houses, called tortoises, gradually 

filled up the deep and wide ditch round the town, so as to 
open a level road for his engines (rolling towers of wood) to 
come up close to the walls." Then the battering-rams over- 
threw the towers of the city wall, and made a breach in them, 
so that the city was taken by assault. Memnon, forced to 
abandon his defenses, withdrew the garrison by sea, and 
Alexander entered the city. The ensuing winter months 
Con uest of ^^^^^ employed in the conquest of Lydia, Pam- 
Asia Miaor. phylia, and Pisidia, which was efiected easily, since 
,the terror of his arms led to submission wherever he ap- 
peared. At Gordium, in Phrygia, he performed the exploit 
familiarly known as the cutting of the Gordian knot, which 
was a cord so twisted and entangled, that no one could untie 
it. The oracle had pronounced that to the person who 
should untie it, the empire of Persia was destined. Alexan- 
der, after many futile attempts to disentangle the knot, in a 



CHAr. XX.] Darius neglects the Passes. 301 

fit of impatience, cut it with his sword, and this was accepted 
as the solution of the problem. 

Meanwhile Memnon, to whom Darius had intrusted the. 
guardianship of the whole coast of Asia Minor, with a large 
Phoenician fleet and a considerable body of Grecian mercen- 
aries, acquired the important island of Chios, and a large part 
of Lesbos. But in the midst of his successes, he died of 
sickness, and no one was left able to take his place. Had 
his advice been taken, Alexander could not have landed in 
Asia. His death was an irreparable loss to the The Persians 
Persian cause, and with his death vanished all hope Sslveoper- 
of employing the Persian force with wisdom and ^'^''^"®- 
effect. Darius now changed his policy, and resolved to carry 
on offensive measures on the land. He therefore summoned a 
vast army, from all parts of his empire, of five hundred 
thousand infantry, and one hundred thousand cavalry. An 
eminent Athenian, Charidemus, advised the Persian king to 
employ his great treasure in subsidizing the Greeks, and not to 
dream, with his undisciplined Asiatics, to oppose the 
Macedonians in battle. But the advice was so unpalatable 
to the proud and self-reliant king, in the midst of his vast 
forces, that he looked upon Charidemus as a traitor, and sent 
him to execution. 

It would not have been difficult for Darius to defend his 
kingdom, had he properly guarded the mountain j)asses 
through which Alexander must needs march to in- Neglect to 
vade Persia. Here again Darius was infatuated, SlmlltSn 
and he, in his self-confidence, left the passes over p^^®''®* 
Mount Taurus and Mount Amanus undefended. Alexander, 
with re-enforcements from Macedonia, now marched from 
Gordium through Paphlagonia and Cappadocia, whose in- 
habitants made instant submission, and advanced to the Cili- 
cian Gates — an impregnable pass in the Taurus range, which 
opened the way to Cilicia. It had been traversed ^i^jc^Aiex- 
seventy years before by Cyrus the Younger, with JJjJj^'uX^^! 
the ten thousand Greeks, and was the main road obstructed. 
from Asia Minor into Cilicia and Syria. The narrowest part 



802 Alexander the Great. [Chap. xx. 

of this defile allowed only four soldiers abreast, and here 
Darius should have taken his stand, even as the Greeks took 
possession of Thermopylae in the invasion of Xerxes. But 
the pass was utterly undefended, and Alexander marched 
through unobstructed without the loss of a man. He then 
found himself at Tarsus, where he made a long halt, from a 
dangerous illness which he got by bathing in the river 
Cydnus. When he recovered, he sent Parmenio to secure the 
pass over Mount Amanus, six days' march from Tarsus, called 
the Cilician Gates. These were defended, but the guard fled 
at the approach of the Macedonians, and this important de- 
file was secured. Alexander then marched through Issus to 
Myriandrus, to the south of the Cilician Gates, which he had 
infetuation passed. The Persians now advanced from Sochi 

and errors of ,.,. -^ , .' 

the Persians, and appeared in his rear at issus — a vast host, in 
the midst of which was Darius with his mother, his wife, his 
harem, and children, who accompanied him to witness his 
anticipated triumph, for it seemed to him an easy matter to 
overwhelm and crush the invaders, who numbered only 
about forty thousand men. So impatient was Darius to 
attack Alexander that he imprudently advanced into Cilicia 
by the northern pass, now called Beylan, with all his army, 
so that in the narrow defiles of that country his cavalry was 
nearly useless. He encamped near Issus, on the river 
Pinarus. Alexander, learning that Darius was in his rear, 
retraced his steps, passed north through the Gates of Cilicia, 
through which he had marched two days before, and ad- 
The Persians vaiiccd to the river Pinarus, on the north bank of 
Issus. which Darius was encamped. And here Darius 

resolved to fight. He threw across the river thirty thousand 
cavalry and twenty thousand infantry, to insure the undis- 
turbed formation of his main force. His main line was com- 
posed of ninety thousand hoplites, of which thirty thousand 
were Greek in the centre. On the mountain to his left, he 
posted twenty thousand, to act against the right wing of the 
Macedonian army. He then recalled the thirty thousand 
cavalry and twenty thousand infantry, which he had sent 



Chap. XX.] Battle of Issus, 803 

across the river, and awaited the onset of Alexander 
Darius was in his chariot, in the centre, behind the Grecian 
hoplites. But the ground was so uneven, that only a part of 
his army could fight. A large proportion of it were mere 
spectators. 

Alexander advanced to the attack. The left wing was 
commanded by Parmenio, and the right by him- rpj^^ „^^^^ 
self, on which were placed the Macedonian cavalry. batlleT?^^ 
The divisions of the phalanx were in the centre, ^*^^^- 
and the Peloponnesian cavalry and Thracian light infantry on 
the left. The whole front extended only a mile and a half. 
Crossing the river rapidly, Alexander, at the head of his 
cavalry, light infantry, and some divisions of the phalanx, 
fell suddenly upon the Asiatic hoplites which were stationed 
on the Persian left. So impetuous and unexpected was the 
charge, that the troops instantly fled, vigorously pressed by 
the Macedonian right. Darius, from his chariot, saw the 
flight of his left wing, and, seized with sudden panic, caused 
his chariot to be turned, and fled also amonsfthe foremost fuo;i- 
tives. In his terror he cast away his bow, shield, and regal 
mantle. He did not give a single order, nor did he remain 
a moment after the defeat of his left, as he ought, for he 
was behind thirty thousand Grecian hoplites, in the centre, 
but abandoned himself to inglorious flight, and this was the 
signal for a general flight also of all his troops, who turned 
and trampled each other down in their efforts to get beyond 
the reach of the enemy. 

Thus the battle was lost by the giving way of the Asiatic 
hoplites on the left, and the flig^ht of Darius in a "Tbe mistakes 

^ . ' =. . of the Per- 

few minutes after. The Persian ricrht showed sians, and 

. ^ the cowardice 

some bravery, till Alexander, having completed of Darius. 
the rout of the left, turned to attack the Grecian mercena- 
ries in the flank and rear, when all fled in terror. The 
slaughter of the fugitives was prodigious. The camp of 
Darius was taken, with his mother, wife, sister, and chil- 
dren. One hundred thousand Persians were slain, not in 
fight, but in flight, and among them were several eminent 



804 Alexander iJte Great. [Chap. xx. 

satraps and grandees. The Persian hosts were completely 
dispersed, and Darius did not stop till he had crossed the 
Euphrates. The booty acquired was immense, in gold, 
silver, and captives. 

Such was the decisive battle of Issus, where the cowardice 
and incompetency of Darius were more marked than the 
generalship of Alexander himself. No victory was ever 
Important foUowcd bv morc important consequences. It 

consequences . 

of the buttle, dispersed the Persian hosts, and opened Persia to 
a victorious enemy, and gave an irresistible prestige to the 
conqueror. The fall of the empire was rendered probable, 
and insured successive triumphs to Alexander. 

But before he proceeded to the complete conquest of the Per- 
The flisrht siaii empire, Alexander, like a prudent and far-reach- 

ancl inaction . . ^ 

of Darius, lug general, impetuous as he was, concluded to sub- 
due first all the provinces which lay on the coast, and thus 
make the Persian fleet useless, and ultimately capture it, and 
leave his rear without an enemy. Accordingly he sent Par- 
menio to capture Damascus, v/here were collected immense 
treasures. It was surrendered without resistance, though it 
was capable of sustaining a siege. There were captured vast 
treasures, with prodigious numbers of Persians of high rank, 
and many illustrious Greek exiles. Master of Damascus, 
Alexander, in the winter of b. c. 331, advanced upon Phoenicia, 
the cities of which mostly sent letters of submission. While 
at Marathus, Darius wrote to Alexander, asking for the 
restitution of his wife, mother, sister, and daughter, and ten- 
dering friendship, to which Alexander replied in a haughty 
letter, demanding to be addressed, not as an equal, but as 
lord of Asia. 

The last hope of Darius was in the Phoenicians, who fur- 
nished him ships ; and one city remained firm in its allegiance — 
Tyre — the strongest and most important place in Phoenicia. 
But even this city would have yielded on fair and honorable 
conditions. This did not accord with Alexander's views, 
who made exorbitant demands, which could not be accepted 
by the Tyrians without hazarding their all. Accordingly 



1 



Chap. XX.] The Siege of Tyre, 305 

they prepared for a siege, trusting to the impregnable de- 
fenses of the city. It was situated on an islet, half rp,^p sie'^eof 
a mile from the main land, surrounded by lofty '^^'■''• 
walls and towers of immense strength and thickness. But 
nothin<x discoura2:ed Alexander, who loved to surmount 
difficulties. He constructed a mole from the main land to 
the islet, two hundred feet wide, of stone and timber, which 
was destroyed by a storm and by the efforts of the Tyrians. 
Nothing daunted, he built another, still wider and stronger, 
and repaired to Sidon, where he collected a great fleet, with 
which he invested the city by sea, as well as land. The doom 
of the city was now sealed, and the Tyrians could offer no 
more serious obstructions. The en seines were then rolled 
along the mole to the walls, and a breach was at last 
made, and the city was taken by assault. The citizens then 
barricaded the streets, and fought desperately until they 
were slain. The surviving soldiers were hanged, and the 
women and children sold as slaves. Still the city resisted 
for seven months, and its capture was really the 

' . ^ •'its fall. 

greatest effort of genius that Alexander had shown, 

and furnished an example to Hichelieu in the siege of La 

Rochelle. 

On the fall of this ancient and wealthy capital, whose 
pride and wealth are spoken of in the Scriptures, Alex- 
ander received a second letter from Darius, offering 
ten thousand talents, his daughter in marriage, with the 
cession of all the provinces of his empire west offor of 
of the Euphrates, for the surrender of his family. ^^"'^8- 
To which the haughty and insolent conqueror replied : "I 
want neither your money nor your cession. All your money 
and territoiy are mine already, and you are ten- Eejected by 
dering me a part instead of the whole. If I choose ^i^^^n^er. 
to marry your daughter I shall marry her, whether you give 
her to me or not. Come hither to me, if you wish for 
friendship." 

Darius now saw that he must risk another desperate bat- 
tle, and summoned all his hosts. Yet Alexander did not 
20 



306 Alexander the Great. [Chap. XX. 

immediately march against him, but undertook first the con- 
who con- quest of Egypt. Syria, Phcenicia, and Palestine 
quijs Egypt ^y^yg nQ^y j^jg^ r^s well as Asia Minor. He had also 
defeated the Persian fleet, and was master of all the islands 
of the ^gean. He stopped on his way to Egypt to take 
Gaza, which held out against him, built on a lofty artificial 
mound two hundred and fifty feet high, and encircled with a 
lofty wall. The Macedonian engineers pronounced the place 
impregnable, but the greater the difficulty the greater the 
eagerness of Alexander to surmount it. He accordingly 
built a mound all around the city, as high as that on which 
Gaza was built, and then rolled his engines to the wall, 
effected a breach, and stormed the city, slew all the gar- 
rison, and sold all the women and children for slaves. As 
for Batis, the defender of the city, he was dragged by a 
chariot around the town, as Achilles, whom Alexander imi- 
tated, had done to the dead body of Hector. The siege of 
these two cities. Tyre and Gaza, occupied nine months, and 
was the hardest fig-htini]: that Alexander ever encountered. 

He entered and occupied Egypt without resistance, and 
Foundinsof rcsolvcd to fouud a uew city, near the mouth of 
Aiexaudria. ^j^^ Nile, .not as a future capital of the commercial 
world, but as a depot for his ships. While he was preparing 
for this great work, he visited the temple of Jupiter Ammon 
in the desert, and was addressed by the priests as the Son of 
God, not as a mortal, which flattery was agreeable to him, so 
that ever afterward he claimed divinity, in the arrogance of 
his character, and the splendor of his successes, and even slew 
the man who saved his life at the Granicus, because he denied 
his divine claims — the most sio;nal instance of self exao-Grera- 
tion and pride recorded in history, transcending both Nebu- 
chadnezzar and Napoleon. 

After arranging his aflairs in Egypt, and obtaining re-en- 

Aiexander forccmcnts of Greeks and Thracians, he set out 

the Euphra- for the Euphrates, which he crossed at Thapsacus, 

unobstructed — another error of the Persians. 

But Darius was paralyzed by the greatness of his mis- 



Chap. XX.] Battle of Avhela. 307 

fortunes, and by the capture of his family, and could not act 
with energy or wisdom. He collected his vast hosts on a 
plain near Arbela, east of the Tigris, and waited for the ap- 
proach of the enemy. He had one million of infantry, forty 
thousand cavalry, and two hundred scythed chariots, besides 
a number of elephants. He placed himself in the centre, 
with his choice troops, including the horse and foot-guards, 
and mercenary Greeks. In the rear stood deep masses of 
Babylonians, and on the left and right, Bactrians, Cadusians, 
Medes, Albanians, and troops from the remote provinces. In 
the front of Darius, were the scythed chariots with advanced 
bodies of cavalry. 

Alexander, as he approached, ranged his forces w^ith great 
care and skill, forty thousand foot and seven thou- Marshalling 

' "^ 1 1 "^' '"'^^ armies 

sand horse. His main line was composed, on the at Aibeia. 
right, of choice cavalry ; then, toward the left, of hypaspists ; 
then the phalanx, in six divisions, which formed the centre ; 
then Greek cavalry on the extreme left. Behind the main 
line was a body of reserves, intended to guard against 
attack on the flanks and rear. In front of the main line were 
advanced squadrons of cavalry and light troops. The Thra- 
cian infantry guarded the baggage and camp. He himself 
commanded the right, and Parmenio the left. 

Darius, at the commencement of the attack, ordered his 
chariots to charge, and the "main line to follow, calculating on 
disorder. But the horses of the chariots were terrified and 
wounded by the Grecian archers and darters in utter dis- 

*' comfiture of 

front, and most turned round, or were stopped. Darius. 
Those that pressed on were let through the Macedonian lines 
without mischief As at Issus, Alexander did not attack the 
centre, where Darius was surrounded with the choicest troops 
of the army, but advanced impetuously upon the left wing, 
turned it, and advanced by a flank movement toward the 
/ centre, where Darius was posted. The Persian king, seeing 
the failure of the chariots, and the advancing troops His insio- . 
of Alexander, lost his self-possession, turned his "*^"^ '= 
chariot, and fled, as at Issus. Such folly and cowardice led. 



308 Alexander the Great. [Cuvr. xx. 

of course, to instant defeat and rout ; and nothing was left for 
the victor, but to pursue and destroy the disorderly fugi- 
tives, so that the slaughter was immense. But while the left 
and centre of the Persians were put to flight, the right fought 
vigorously, and might have changed the fortune of the day, 
had not Alexander seasonably returned from the pursuit, 
and attacked the left in the rear and flank. Then all was 
lost, and headlong flight marked the Persian hosts. The 
battle was lost by the cowardice of Darius, who insisted, 
with strange presumption, on commanding in person. Half 
the troops, under an able general, would have overwhelmed 
the Macedonian army, even with Alexander at the head. 
But the Persians had no leader of courao-e and skill, and were 
a mere rabble. According to some accounts, three hundred 
thousand Persians were slain, and not more than one hun- 
dred Macedonians. There was no attempt on the part of 
Darius to rally or collect a new army. His cause and throne 
were irretrievably lost, and he was obliged to fly to his far- 
thest provinces, pursued by the conqueror. The battle of 
The battle of Arbcla was the death-blow to the Persian empire. 
death-lfow ^^ ^^^ ^10* help feeling sentiments of indignation 
to Persia. .^^ vicw of sucli wrctchcd management on the part 
of the Persians, thus throwing away an empire. But, on the 
other hand, we are also compelled to admit the extraordinary 
Military p;eneralship of Alexander, who brouscht into action 

genius of the ° n ^ - \ ^^ ^ 

conqueror. cvcry part of liis army, w^hile at least three-quar- 
ters of the Persians were mere spectators, so that his avail- 
able force was really great. His sagacious combinations, his 
perception of the weak points of his adversary, and the instant 
advantage which he seized — his insight, rapidity of move- 
ment, and splendid organization, made him irresistible against 
any Persian array of numbers, without skill. Indeed, the 
Persian army was too large, since it could not be commanded 
by one man with any effect, and all became confusion and 
ruin on the first misfortune. The great generals of antiquity, 
Greek and Poman, rarely commanded over fifty thousand 
men on the field of battle ; and fifty thousand, under Alex- 



Chap. XX.] Surrender of Babylon. 309 

ander's circumstances, were more effective, perhaps, than 
two hundred thousand. In modern times, when battles are 
not decided by personal bravery, but by the number and 
disposition of cannon, and the excellence of fire-arms, an 
army of one hundred thousand can generally overwhelm an 
army of fifty thousand, with the same destructive weapons. 
But in ancient times, the impetuous charge of twenty thou- 
sand men on a single point, followed by success, would pro- 
duce a panic, and then a rout, when even flight is obstructed 
by numbers. Thus Alexander succeeded both at Issus and 
Arbela. He concentrated forces upon a weak point, which, 
when carried, produced a panic, and especially sent dismay 
into the mind of Darius, who had no nerve or self controL 
Had he remained firm, and only fought on the defensive, the 
Macedonians might not have prevailed. But he fled ; and 
confusion seized, of course, his hosts. 

Both Babylon and Susa, the two great capitals of the 
empire, immediately surrendered after the decisive Surrender of 

. ■ Babylou and 

battle of Arbela, and Alexander became the great Susa. 
kino* and Darius a fuijitive. The treasure found at Susa was 
even greater than that which Babylon furnished — about 
fifty thousand talents, or fifty million dollars, one-fifth of 
which, three years before, would have been sufiicient to sub- 
sidize Greece, and present a barrier to the conquests of both 
Philip and Alexander. 

The victor spent a month in Babylon, sacrificing to the 
Babylonian deities, feasting his troops, and organizing hia 
new empire. He then marched into Persia proper, The enor- 

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ' rnous trea- 

subdued the inhabitants, and entered Persepolis. snres of the 

mi 1 . . 1 • Persian 

Though It was the strongest place m the empire, kings. 
it made no resistance. Here were hoarded the chief treas- 
ures of the Persian kings, no less than one hundred and 
twenty thousand talents, or about one hundred and twenty 
million dollars of our money — an immense sum in gold and 
silver in that age, a tenth of which, judiciously spent, would 
have secured the throne to Darius against any exterior 
enemy. He was now a fugitive in Media, and thither Alex- 



810 Alexander the Great. [Chap. xx. 

ander went at once in pursuit, giving himself no rest. He 
established himself at Ecbatana, the capital, without resist- 
ance, and made preparations for the invasion of the eastern 
part of the Persian empire, beyond the Parthian desert, 
even to the Oxus and the Indus, inhabited by warlike bar^ 
barians, from which were chiefly recruited the Persian armies. 
It would be tedious to describe the successive conquests of 
Successive So2;diana, Maro-iana, Bactriana, and even some 

conquests of ^. ' ^- . ' ., ./ ^ 

Alexander, territory beyond the Indus. Alexander never met 
from these nations the resistance which Caesar found in Gaul, 
nor were his battles in these eastern countries remarkable. 
He only had to appear, and he was master. At last his 
troops were wearied of these continual marchings and easy 
victories, when their real enemies were heat, hunger, thirst, 
fatigue, and toil. They refused to follow their general and 
king any further to the east, and he was obliged to return. 
Yet some seven years w^ere consumed in marches and con- 
quests in these remote countries, for he penetrated to Scythia 
at the north, and the mouth of the Indus to the south. 

It was in the expeditions among these barbarians that 
some of the most disgraceful events of his life took place* 
He kills Ills He scldom rested, but when he had leisure he in^ 
fnend chtus. ("julged in great exccsscs at the fcstivc board. His 
revelries with his ofiicers were prolonged often during the 
night, and when intoxicated, he did things which gave 
him afterward the deepest remorse and shame. Thus 
he killed, with his own hand, Clitus, at a feast, because 
Clitus ventured to utter some truths which were in 
opposition to his notions of omnipotence. But the agony 
Agony and of rcmorse was so ffreat, that he remained in 

remorse of ^ . 

Alexander, bed three whole days and nights immediately 
after, refusing all food and drink. He also killed Philotas, 
one of his most, trusted generals, and commander of his body- 
guard, on suspicion of treachery, and then, without other 
cause than fear of the anger of his father, Parmenio, he 
caused that old general to be assassinated at Ecbatana, in 
command of the post — the most important in his dominions — 



Ghap. XX.1 Porus. 311 

where his treasures were deposited. He savagely mutilated 
Bessus, the satrap, who stood out against him in Bactria. 
Callisthenes, one of the greatest philosophers of the age, 
was tortured and assassinated for alleged complicity in a 
conspiracy, but he really incurred the hatred of the monarch 
for denying his claim to divinity. 

In the spring of b. c. 326, Alexander crossed the Indus, 
but met with no resistance until he reached the He pene- 
river Hydaspes (Jhylum) on the other side of which, Indus. 
Porus, an Indian prince, disputed his passage, with a formi- 
dable force and many trained elephants — animals which the 
Macedonians had never before encountered. By a series of 
masterly combinations Alexander succeeded in crossing the 
river, and the combat commenced. But the Indians could 
not long withstand the long pikes and close combats of the> 
Greeks, and were defeated with o^reat loss. Porus 

. , . . Porus. 

himself, a prince of gigantic stature, mounted on an 
elephant, was taken, after having fought with great courage. 
Carried into the presence of the conqueror, Alexander asked 
him what he wished to be done for him, for his gallantry and 
physical strength excited admiration. Porus replied that he 
wished to be treated as a king, which answer still more ex- 
cited the admiration of the Greeks. He was accordingly 
treated witli the utmost courtesy and generosity, and re* 
tained as an ally. Alexander was capable of great magnani- 
mity, when he was not opposed. He was kind to the family 
of Darius, both before and after his assassination by the 
satrap Bessus. And his munificence to his soldiers was 
great, and he never lost their aifections. But he was cruel 
and sanguinary in his treatment of captives who had made 
him trouble, putting thousands to the sword in cold blood. 
As before mentioned, the soldiers were wearied with vic- 
tories and hardships, without enioyments, and The soldiers 

of Alexander 

longed to return to Europe. Hence San gala, in refuse toad- 

cj / V11T1C6 further 

India, was the easternmost point to which he pen- to the East. 
etrated. On returning to the river Hydaspes, he construct- 
ed a fleet of two thousand boats, in which a part of his 



312 Alexander the Great, [Chap. xx. 

army descended the river with himself, while another part 
marched along its banks. He sailed slowly down the river 
to its junction with the Indus, and then to the Indian ocean. 
This voyage occupied nine months, but most of the time was 
employed in subduing the various people who opposed his 
march. On reaching the ocean, he was astonished and in- 
terested by the ebbing and flowing of the tide — a new phe- 
nomenon to him. The fleet was conducted from the mouth 
of the Indus, round bv the Persian Gulf to the mouth of the 
Tigris — a great nautical achievement in those days ; but he 
himself, with the army, marched westward through deserts, 
undergoing great fatigues and suflerings, and with a great 
loss of men, horses, and baggage. At Carmania he halted, 
and the army for seven days was abandoned to drunken fes- 
tivities. 

On returning to Persepolis, in Persia, he visited and re- 
He returns paired the tomb of Cyrus, the screatest conqueror 

to Peisepo- ^ '' ^ . ^ ^ ^ 

lis. the world had seen before himself. In r ebruary, 

B. c. 324, he marched to Susa, where he spent several months 
in festivities and in organizing his great government, since 
he no longer had armies to oppose. He now surrounded 
himself with the pomp of the Persian kings, wore their 
His abandon- dress, and aflcctcd their habits, much to the dls- 

ment to pleas- ^^ • -xt t • i xt i t • -i 

ure. gust ol his Macedonian generals. He had married 

a beautiful captive — Roxana — In Bactrla, and he now took 
two additional wives, Statlra, daughter of Darius, and Pary- 
satls, daughter of King Ochus. He also caused his princi- 
pal officers to marry the daughters of the old Persian gran- 
dees, and seemed to forget the country from which he came, 
and which he was destined never again to see. Here also he 
gave a donation to his soldiers of twenty thousand talents— 
about five hundred dollars to each man. But even this did 
not satisfy them, and when new re-enforcements arrived, the 
old soldiers mutinied. He disbanded the whole of them In 
anger, and gave them leave to return to their homes, but 
they were filled with shame and regret, and a reconciliation 
took place. 



Chap. XX.] Funeral of HephcBstion. 313 

It was while he made a visit to Ecbatana, in the summer 
of B. c. 324, that his favorite, Hephsestion, died. Death of He- 

TT« 1 • i? 1 1 1 TT 1. phtestion and 

His sorrow and griet were unbounded. He cast gn^fof Aiex 
himself upon the ground, cut his hair close, and 
refused food and drink for two days. This was the most 
violent grief he ever manifested, and it was sincere. He re* 
fused to be comforted, yet sought for a distraction from his 
grief in festivals and ostentation of life. 

In the spring of b. c. 323, he marched to Babylon, where 
were assembled envoys from all the nations of the ^^^ entrance 
known world to congratulate him for his prodig- into Babylon. 
ious and unprecedented successes, and invoke his friendship, 
which fact indicates his wide-spread fame. At Babylon, he 
laid plans and made preparations for the circumnavigation 
and conquest of Arabia, and to found a great maritime city 
in the interior of the Persian Gulf. But before setting out, 
he resolved to celebrate the funeral obsequies of Hephsestion 
with unprecedented splendor. The funeral pile gpiendorof 
was two hundred feet high, loaded with costly SVephSs- 
decorations, in which all the invention of artists **""• 
was exhausted. It cost twelve thousand talents, or twelve 
million dollars of our money. The funeral ceremonies were 
succeeded by a general banquet, in which he shared, passing 
a whole night in drinking with his friend Medius. This last 
feast Avas fatal. His heated blood furnished fuel for th6 
raging fever which seized him, and which carried Death of 
him off in a few days, at the age of thirty-two, ^^^xander. 
and after a reign of twelve years and eight months, June, 
B. C.323. 

He indicated no successor. Nor could one man have o-ov- 
erned so vast an empire with so little machinery of govern- 
ment. His achievements threw into the shade those of all 
previous conquerors, and he was, most emphatically, the 
Great King — the type of all worldly power. " He jjj^ bound- 
had mastered, in defiance of fatigue, hardship, less ambition. 
and combat, not merely all the eastern half of the Persian 
empire, but unknown Indian regions beyond. Besides Mac^ 



314 Alexander the Great. [Chap. xx. 

don, Greece, and Thrace, he possessed all the treasures and 
forces which rendered the Persian king so formidable," and 
he was exalted to all this power and grandeur by conquest 
at an age when a citizen of Athens was intrusted with im- 
portant commands, and ten years less than the age for a 
Roman consul. But he was unsatisfied, and is said to have 
wept that there were no more worlds to conquer. He would, 
had he lived, doubtless have encountered the Romans, and 
all their foes, and added Italy and Spain and Carthage to his 
empire. But there is a limit to human successes, and when 
his work of chastisement of the nations was done, he died. 
But he left a fame never since surpassed, and " he overawes 
the imagination more than any personage of antiquity." He 
had transcendent merits as a general, but he was much in- 
debted to fortunate circumstances. He thouorlit of new con- 
(quests, rather than of consolidating what he had made, so 
that his empire must naturally be divided and subdivided 
His death a at his death. Though divided and subdivided, the 

fortunate ^^ /» i • t p 

event. eiiect 01 thosc conquests remained to future genera- 

tions, and had no small effect on civilization, and yet, instead 
of Hellenizing Asia, he rather Asiatized Hellas. That process, 
so far as it was carried out, is due to his generals — the Dia- 
dochi — Antigonus, Ptolemy, Seleucus, Lysimachus, &c., who 
divided between them the empire. But Hellenism in reality 
never to a great extent passed into Asia. The old Oriental 
Effects of habits and sentiments and intellectual qualities 

his con- . , 

quests. remamed, and have survived all succeeding con- 

quests. Oriental habits and opinions rather invaded the 
western world with the progress of wealth and luxury. 
Asia, by the insidious influences of effeminated habits, un- 
dermined Greece, and even Rome, rather than received from 
Europe new impulses or sentiments, or institutions. A new 
and barbarous country may prevail, by the aid of hardy 
warriors, adventurous and needy, over the civilized nations 
which have been famous for a thousand years, but the con- 
quered country almost invariably has transmitted its habits 
and institutions among thejjonquerors, so much more majes- 



Chap. XX.] Reflections, 315 

tic are ideas than any display of victorious brute forces. 
Dynasties are succeeded by dynasties, but civilization sur- 
vives, when any material exists on which it can work. 

Athens was never a greater power in the world than at 
the time her political ruin was consummated. Hence the 
political changes of nations, which form the bulk of all his- 
tories, are insignificant in comparison with those ideas and 
institutions which gradually transform the habits and opin- 
ions of ordinary life. Yet it is these silent and gradual 
changes which escape the notice of historians, and are the 
most difficult to be understood and explained, for lack of 
sufficient and definite knowledge. Moreover, it is the feats 
of extraordinary individuals in stirring enterprise and hero- 
ism which have thus far proved the great attraction of past 
ages to ordinary minds. No history, truly philosophical, 
would be extensively read by any people, in any age, and 
least of all by the young, in the process of education. 

The remaining history of Greece has little interest until 
the Roman conquests, which will be presented in the next 
book. 



BOOK III. 

THE EOMAI^ EMPIEE. 



CHAPTEE XXI. 

HOME IN ITS INFANCY, UNDEK KINGS. 

In presenting the growth of that great power which 
gradually absorbed all other States and monarchies so as to 
form the largest empire ever known on earth, I shall omit a 
notice of all other States, in Italy and Europe, until they 
were brought into direct collision with Rome herself. 

The early history of Rome is involved in obscurity, and 
Obscurity of althous^h many 2:reat writers have expended vast 

the early his- . ° ... . . . 

toryofEome. learning and ingenuity in tracing the origin of 
the city and its inhabitants, still but little has been estab- 
lished on an incontrovertible basis. We look to poetry and 
legends for the foundation of the " Eternal City." 

These legends are of peculiar interest, ^neas, in his 

flight from Troy, after many adventures, reache? 

Italy, marries the daughter of Latinus, king of the 

people, who then lived in Latium, and builds a city, which he 

names Lavinium, and unites his Trojan followers with the 

aboriginal inhabitants. 

Latium was a small country, bounded on the north by the 

Tiber, on the east by the Liris and Vulturnus, and on 

Latium. "^ ' 

the south and west by the Tuscan Sea. It was im- 
mediately surrounded by the Etruscans, Sabines, ^qui, and 



Chap, xxi.] Foundation of Borne, HIT 

Marsi. When Latiuni was originally settled we do not 
know, but the people doubtless belonged to the Indo- 
European race, kindred to the early settlers of Europe. 
Latium was a plain, inclosed by mountains and traversed 
by the Tiber, of about seven hundred square miles. Be- 
tween the Alban Lake and the Alban Mount, was Alba — the 
original seat of the Latin race, and the mother city of Rome. 
Here, according to tradition, reigned Ascanius, the son of 
^neas, and his descendants for three hundred years were 
the Latin tribes. After eleven generations of kings, Amulius 
usurps the throne, which belonged to Numitor, the eldef 
brother, and dooms his only daughter, Silvia, to perpetual 
virginity as a Vestal. Silvia, visited by a god, gives birth to- 
twins, Romulus and Remus. The twins, exposed by the order 
of Amulius, are suckled by a she-wolf, and brought up by 
one of the king's herdsmen. They feed their flocks on the 
Palatine, but a quarrel ensuing between them and the herds- 
men of Numitoron the Aventine, their royal origin is dis- 
covered, and the restoration of Numitor is effected. But 
the twins resolve to found a city, and Rome Fonndation 
arises on the Palatine, an asylum for outlaws and <'^^^'^"'^«- 
slaves, who are provided with wives by the "rape of the 
Sabine women." 

Thus, according to the legends, was the foundation of 
Rome, on a hill about fourteen miles from the mouth of the 
Tiber, and on a site less healthy than the old Latin towns, 
B. c. 751, or 753. According to the speculations of Mommsen, 
it would seem that Rome was at a very early period the 
resort of a lawless band of men, who fortified Thee.ariy 
themselves on the Palatine, and perhaps other i^i^abitauts. ; 
hills, and robbed the small merchants, who sailed up and 
down the Tiber, as well as the neighboring rural population, 
even as the feudal barons intrenched themselves on hills over- 
looking plains and rivers. But all theories relating to the 
foundation of Rome are based either on legend or speculation. 
Until we arrive at certain facts, I prefer those based on legend, 
such as have been accepted for more than two thousand year?. ' 



318 Home in its Infancy. [Chap. xxi. 

It is but little consequence whether Romulus and Remus are 
real characters, or poetic names. This is probable, that the 
Eome founded situation of Rouic was favorable in ancient times 
ju violence. for rapine, even if it were not a healthy locality. 
The first beginnings of Rome were violence and robbery, 
and the murder of Remus by Romulus is a type of its early 
history, and whole subsequent career. 

Romulus and his associate outlaws, now intrenched on 
The Sabine the Palatine, orojanize a city and s^overnment, and 

element of > o J » t 

Eome. extend the limits. The rape of the Sabines leads 

to war, and Titus Tatius, king of the Sabines, obtains pos- 
session of the Capitoline Hill — the smallest but most famous 
of the seven hills on which Rome was subsequently built. 
In the valley between, on which the forum was afterward 
built, the combatants are separated by the Sabine wives of 
the outlaws, and the tribes or nations are united under the 
name of Ramnes and Titles, the Sabines retaining the capitol 
and the Quirinal, and the Romans the Palatine. Some 
Etruscans, in possession of the Cselian Hill, are incorporated 
as a third tribe, called Luceres. But it is probable that the 
Sabine element prevailed. Each tribe contains ten curiae of 
a hundred citizens, which, with the three hundred horsemen, 
form a body of three thousand three hundred citizens, who 
alone enjoyed political rights. 

The government, though monarchical, was limited. The 
king was bound to lay all questions of moment before the 
assembly of the thirty curiae, called the Comitia Curiata. But 
The consti- ^^^^ king had a council called the Senate^ composed 
tntion. of one hundred members, who were called Patres^ 

or Fathers, and doubtless were the heads of clans called 
Gentes. The Gentes were divided into FamilicB^ or families. 
These Patres were the heads of the patrician houses — that 
class who alone had political rights, and who were Roman 
citizens. 

Romulus is said to have reigned justly and ably for thirty- 
NnmaPom- ^^^^'" years, and no one could be found worthy to 
piiias. succeed him. At length the Roman tribe, the 



Chap. XXL] The Horatii and the CuriatU. 319 

Ramnes, elected Numa Porapilius, from the Sabines, a man 
of wisdom and piety, and said to have acquired his learning 
from Pythagoras. This king instituted the religious and 
civil legislation of Rome, and built the temple of Janus in 
the midst of the Forum, whose doors were shut in peace and 
opened in war, but were never closed from his death to the 
reign of Augustus, except a brief period after the first Punic 
war. 

He established the College of Pontiffs, who directed all 
the ceremonies of relig^ion and regulated festivals EstabHsb- 

, , /» -^ 1 T 11 ment of re- 

and the system ot weights and measures ; also the ligion. 
College of Augurs, who interpreted by various omens the 
will of the gods ; and also the College of Heralds, who 
guarded the public faith. He fixed the boundaries of fields, 
divided the territory of Rome into districts, called pagi, and 
regulated the calendar. 

According to the legends, Tullus Hostilius was the third 
king of Rome, elected by the curiae. He assigned rp„,|^g jj^g. 
the Cailian Mount for the poor, and the strangers ^*^^"^- 
who flocked to Rome, and was a warlike sovereign. The 
great event of his reign was the destruction of Alba. The 
growing power of Rome provoked the jealousy of this 
ancient seat of Latin power, and war ensued. The armies 
of the two States were drawn up in battle array, when it 
was determined that the quarrel should be settled by three 
champions, chosen from each side. Hence the beautiful 
story of the Curiatii and the Horatii, three brothers The Hoiatn 

1 • T ni f» 1 TT •• 1 • ^ anil the Cu- 

on each side. Iwo oi the Horatii were slain, and riatii. 
the three Curiatii were wounded. The third of the Horatii 
affected to fly, and was pursued by the Curiatii, but as they 
were wounded, the third Roman subdued them in detail, and 
so the Albans became subjects of the Romans. The con- 
queror met his sister at one of the gates, who, being be- 
trothed to one of the Curiatii, reproached him for the death 
of her lover, which so incensed him that he slew her. Thus 
early does patriotism surmount natural affections among the 
Romans. But Horatius was nevertheless tried for his life by 



320 Rome in its Infancy, [Chap. xxi. 

two judges and condemned. He appealed to the people, 
who reversed the judgment — the first instance on record 
of an appeal in a capital case to the people, which subse- 
quently was the right, of Roman citizens. 

Hostilities again breaking out between Alba and Rome, 
Destruction ^^^ former city was demolished and the inhabitants 
Qf Alba. removed to the Caelian Mount and enrolled among 
the citizens. By the destruction of Alba, Rome obtained 
the presidency over the thirty cities of the Latin confederacy. 
Tullus, it would seem, was an unscrupulous king, but able, 
and to him is ascribed the erection of the Curia Hostilia. 
where the Senate had its meetino;:s. 

The Sabine Ancus Martius was the fourth king, b. c. 640, 
Avho pursued the warlike policy of his predecessor, conquer- 
ing many Latin towns, and incorporating their inhabitants 
with the Romans, whom he settled on Mount Aventine. 
They were freemen, but not citizens. They were called 
The origin of plebciaus. With modified civil, but not jDolitical 
plebeians. rights, and were the origin of that great middle 
class which afterward became so formidable. The plebeians, 
though of the same race as the Romans, were a conquered 
people, and yet were not reduced to slavery like most con- 
quered people among the ancients. They had their Gentes 
and Familiie, but they could not intermarry with the patri- 
cians. Though they were not citizens, they were bound to 
fight for the State, for which, as a compensation, they 
retained their lands, that is, their old possessions. 

On the death, b. c. 616, of Ancus Martius, Lucius Tar- 
quinius, of an Etruscan family, became king, best known as 
Tarquinius Tarquiuius PHscus. He had been guardian of the 
i^riscus. i^Q gQ^g Q^ Ancus, but offered himself as candi- 
date for the throne, from which it would appear that the 
monarchs were elected by the people. 

He carried on successful war asrainst the Latins and 
Sabines, and introduced from Etruria, by permission of the 
Senate, a golden crown, an ivory chain, a sceptre topped 
with an eagle, and a crimson robe studded with gold— 



Chap. XXL] The Servian Constitution. 321 

emblems of royalty. But he is best known for various 
public works of great magnificence at the time, as jjis public 
well as of public utility. Among these was the ^^oiks. 
Cloaca Maxima, to drain the marshy land between the Pala- 
tine and the Tiber — a work so great, that Niebuhr ranks it 
with the pyramids. It has lasted, without the displacement 
of a stone, for more than two thousand years. It shows that 
the use of the arch was known at that period. The masonry 
of the stones is perfect, joined together without cement. 
Tarqnin also instituted public games, and reigned with more 
splendor than we usually associate with an infant State. S 

This king, who excited the jealousy of the patricians, waa 
assassinated, b. c. 578, and Servius Tullius reigned serviusTut 
in his stead. He was the greatest of the Roman ^^^^' 
kings, and arose to his position by eminent merit, being 
originally obscure. lie married the daughter of Tarquin, 
and shared all his political plans. 

He is most celebrated for remodeling the constitution. He 
left the old institutions untouched, but added new ones. He 
made a new territorial division of the State, and created a 
popular assembly. He divided the whole population into 
thirty tribes, at the head of each of which was a 
tribune. Each tribe managed its own local affairs, 
and held public meetings. These tribes included both patri- 
cians and plebeians. This was the commencement of the 
power of the plebs, which was seen with great jealousy by; 
the patricians. 

The basis or principle of the new organization of Servius 
was the possession of property. All free citizens, -^^^^^ ^^ : 
whether patricians or plebeians, were called to de- property. 
fend the State, and were enrolled in the army. The equites, 
or cavalry, took the precedence in the army, and was com- 
posed of the wealthy citizens. There were eighteen centu- 
ries of these knights, six patrician and twelve plebeian, all 
having more than one hundred thousand ases. They were 
armed with sword, spear, helmet, shield, greaves, and cuirass. 
The infantry was composed of the classes, variously armed, 

21 



322 Rome in its Infancy, [Chap. xxt, 

df which, inchiding equites, there were one hundred and 
New division ninety-four centuries, one hundred of whom were 
o the people. ^^ ^j^^ ^^.^^ rank, heavily armed — all men possess- 
ing one hundred thousand ases. Each class Avas divided 
into seniores — men between forty-five and sixty, and jun- 
iores — from seventeen to forty-five. The former were liable to 
be called out only in emergencies. This division of the citi- 
zens was a purely military one, and, each century had one 
vote. But as the first class numbered one hundred centu- 
ries, each man of which was worth land valued at one hun- 
dred thousand ases, it could cast a larger vote than all the 
other classes, which numbered only ni.nety-four together. 
Thus the rich controlled all public affairs. 

To this military body of men, in which the rich prepon- 
derated, Servius committed all the highest functions of the 
Oomitia State, for the Comitia Centuriata possessed elect- 
Centuriata. ^y^^ judicial, and legislative functions. Servius 
also rendered many other benefits to the plebeians. He di- 
vided amons^ them the lands orained from the Etruscans. He 
inclosed the city with a wall, which remained for centuries, 
embracing the seven hills on which Rome was built. But it 
is as the hero of the plebeian order that he is famous, and 
paid the penalty for being such. He was assassinated, prob- 
ably by the instigation of the patricians, by his son-in-law, 
Lucius Tarquinius, who mounted his throne as Tarquinius 
Superbus, the last king of Rome, b. c. 534. The daughter 
of the murdered king, Tullia, who rode in her chariot over 
his bleeding body, is enrolled among the infamous women 
of antiquity. 

Tarquimus Superbus, a usurper and murderer, abrogated 
the popular laws of Servius TuUius, and set aside even the 
.«v A . assembly of the Curiae, and des^raded and deci- 

The despot- ■^ ' » 

ism of Tar- mated the Senate, and appropriated the confiscated 
estates of those whom he destroyed. He reigned 
as a despot, making treaties without consulting the Senate, 
and living for his pleasure alone. But he ornamented the 
eity with magnificent edifices, and completed the Circus Maxi- 



Chap. XXI.] Lucretia, 323 

mus as well as the Capitoline Temple, wliicli stood five hun- ^ 
dred years. He was also successful in war, and exalted the 
glory of the Roman name. 

An end came to his tyranny by one of those events on 
which poetry and history have alike exhausted al] their fas- 
cinations. It was while Tarquin was conducting a war 
against Ardea, and the army was idly encamped before the 
town, that the sons of Tarquin, with their kinsmen, were 
supping in the tent of Sextus, that conversation turned upon 
the comparative virtue of their wives. By a simul- r^^^ legend 
taneous impulse, they took horse to see the man- of i^ucretia. 
ner in which these ladies were at the time employed. The 
wives of Tarquin's sons at Rome were found in luxurious 
banquets with other women. Lucretia, the wife of Collati- 
nus, was discovered carding wool in the midst of her maid- 
ens. The boast of CoUatinus that his wife was the most 
virtuous was confirmed. But her charms or virtues made a 
deep impression on the heart or passions of Sextus, and he 
returned to her dwelling in CoUatia to propose infamous 
overtures. They were proudly rejected, but the disappoint- 
ed lover, by threats and force, accomplished his purpose. 
Lucretia, stung with shame, made known the crime of Sex- 
tus to her husband and father, who hastened to her house, 
accompanied with Brutus. They found the ravished beauty 
in agonies of shame and revenge, and after she Death of Ln- 
had revealed the scandalous facts, she plunged a ^^^"•^• 
dagger in her own bosom and died, invoking revenge. Her 
relatives and friends carried her corpse to the market- 
place, revealed the atrocity of the crime of Sextus, and de- 
manded vengeance. The people rallied in the Forum at 
Rome, and the assembled Curiae deprived Tarquin of his 
throne, and decreed the banishment of his accursed 

e> •^ r\ ^ /• i • • i Banishment 

lamily. (Jn the news oi the insurrection, the of the 
tyrant started for the city with a band of chosen 
followers, but Brutus reached the army after the king had 
left, recounted the wrongs, and marched to Rome, whose 
gates were already shut against Tarquin. He fled to Etruria, 



824 Rome in its Infancy. [Chap. xxi. 

with two of his sons, but Sextus was murdered by the people 
of Gabii. 

Thus were the kings driven out of Rome, never to return. 
In the revolution which followed, the patricians recovered 
their powei-, and a new form of government was instituted, 
republican in name, but oligarchal and aristocratic in reality, 
two hundred and forty-five years after the foundation of the 
The restora- city, B. c. 510. Historical criticism throws doubt 
er^S)fhe'pa-' ^^ ^^^ chronology wliich assigns two hundred and 
tricians. forty-fivc years to seven elective kings, and some 
critics think that a longer period elapsed from the reign of 
Romulus to that of Tarquin than legend narrates, and that 
there must have been a 2:reat number of kino;s whose names 
are unknown. As the city advanced in wealth and numbers, 
the popular influence increased. The admission o/ commons 
favored the establishment of despotism, and its excesses led 
to its overthrow. It would have been better for the com- 
mons had Brutus established a monarchy with more limited 
powers, for the plebeians were now subjected to the tyranny 
of a proud and grasping oligarchy, and lost a powerful pro- 
tector in the king, and the whole internal history of Rome, 
for nearly two centuries, were the conflicts between the ple- 
beians and their aristocratic masters for the privileges they 
were said to possess under the reign of Tullius. Under the 
patricians the growth of the city was slow, and it was not 
till the voices of the tribunes were heard that Rome ad- 
vanced in civilization and liberty. Under the kings, the 
progress in arts and culture had been rapid. 

Mommsen, in his learned and profound history of Rome, 
enumerates the various forms of civilization that existed on 
the expulsion of the Tarquins, a summary oC which I present. 
Law and justice were already enforced on some of the elemen- 
tal principles which marked the Roman jurisprudence. The 
punishment of offenses against order was severe, and compen- 
Jurispru- sation for crime, where injuries to person and prop- 
•dence. f^'^j^j were slight, was somewhat similar to the 

penalties of the Mosaic code. The idea of property was asso- 



Chap. XXL] Roman Laws. 325 

ciated with estate in slaves and cattle, and all property passed 
freely from hand to hand ; but it ^as not in the power of 
the father arbitrarily to deprive his children of their heredi- 
tary rights. Contracts between the State and a citizen wero 
valid \vithout formalities, but those between private persons 
were difficult to be enforced. A purchase only founded an 
action in the event of its being a transaction for ready money, 
and this was attested by witnesses. Protection was afforded 
to minors and for the estate of persons not capable of bear- 
ing arms. After a man's death, his property descended to 
his nearest heirs. The emancipation of slaves was difficult, 
and that of a son was attended with even greater difficulties. 
Burgesses and clients were equally free in their private 
rights, but foreigners were beyond the pale of the law. The 
laws indicated a great progress in agriculture and commerce, 
but the foundation of law was the State. The greatest 
liberality in the permission of commerce, and the most rigor- 
ous procedure in execution, went hand in hand. Women 
were placed on a legal equality with men, though restricted 
in the administration of their property. Personal credit was 
extravagant and easy, but the creditor could treat the 
debtor like a thief. A freeman could not, indeed, be tortured, 
but he could be imprisoned for debt with merciless severity. 
From the first, the laws of property were stringent and inex- 
orable. 

In religion, the ancient Koraans, like the Greeks, personi- 
fied the powers of nature, and also abstractions, like 

T Till Eeligion. 

sowing, field labor, war, boundary, youth, health, 
liarmony, fidelity. The profoundest worship was that of the 
tutelary deities, who presided over the household. Next to 
the deities of the house and forest, held in the greatest vene- 
ration, was Hercules, the god of the inclosed homestead, and, 
therefore, of property and gain. The souls of departed 
mortals were supposed to haunt the spot where the bodies 
reposed, but dwelt in the depths below. The hero ohiects of 
worship of the Greeks was uncommon, and even ""'o^'s'iip- 
Numa was never worshiped as a god. The central object 



826 Rome in its Infancy. [Chap. xxi. 

of worship was Mars, the god of war, and this was conducted 
by imposing ceremonies and rites. The worship of Vesta 
was held with peculiar sacredness, and the vestal virgins 
were the last to yield to Christianity. The worshipers of 
the gods often consulted priests and augurs, who had great 
colleges, but little power in the State. The Latin worship 
was grounded on man's enjoyment of earthly pleasures, and 
not on his fear of the wild forces of nature, and it gradually 
sunk into a dreary round of ceremonies. The Italian god was 
simply an instrument for the attainment of worldly ends, and 
not an object of profound awe or love, and hence the Latin 
worship was unfavorable to poetry, as well as philosophical 
speculation. 

A2;riculture is ever a distinsjuishino; mark of civilization, 
and forms the main support of a people. It early 

Agriculture. . . , , 

occupied the time of the Latins, and was their chief 
pursuit. In the earliest ages arable land was cultivated in 
common, and was not distributed among the people as their 
special property, but in the time of Servius there was a dis- 
Fruits and tributiou. Attention was chiefly given to cereals, 
cereals. \)^^^ roots and Vegetables wcre also diligently culti- 

vated. Vineyards were introduced before the Greeks made 
settlements in Italy, but the olive was brought to Italy by 
the Greeks. The fig-tree is a native of Italy. The plow 
was drawn by oxen, while horses, asses, and mules were used 
as beasts of burden. The farm was stocked with swine and 
poultry, especially geese. The plow was a rude instru- 
ment, but no field was reckoned perfectly tilled unless the 
furrows were so close that harrowing was deemed unneces- 
sary. Farming on a large scale was not usual, and the pro- 
prietor of land worked on the soil with his sons. The use 
of slaves was a later custom, when large estates arose. 

Trades scarcely kept pace with agriculture, although in 
the time of ISTuma eio;ht 2:uilds of craftsmen were 

Trades. . . 

numbered among the institutions of Rome — flute- 
blowers, goldsmiths, coppersmiths, carpenters, fullers, dyers, 
potters, and shoemakers. There was no guild for workers in 



Chap. XXI.] Commerce, 327 

iron, wTiich shows that iron was a later introduction than 
copper. 

Commerce was limited to the mutual dealinjrs of the 
Italians themselves. Fairs are of great antiq- 
uity, distinguished from ordinary markets, and 
barter and traffic were carried on in thera, especially that of 
Soracte, being before Greek or Phoenicians entered from the 
sea. Oxen and sheep, grain and slaves, were the common 
mediums of exchange. Latium was, however, deficient of 
articles of export, and was pre-eminently an agricultural 
country. 

The use of measures and weights was earlier than the art 
of writing, although the latter is of high antiquity, j^pasnres 
Latin poetry began in the lyrical form. Dancing and weights. 
was a common trade, and this was accompanied with pipers, 
and religious litanies were sung from the remotest antiquity. 
Comic songs were sung in Saturnian metre, accompanied by 
the pipe. The art of dancing was a public care, and a power- 
ful impulse was early given by Hellenic games. But in all 
the arts of music and poetry there was not the easy develop- 
ment as in Greece. Architecture owed its first impulse to 
the Etruscans, who borrowed from the Greeks, and was not 
of much account till the reig-ns of the Tuscan kinsrs. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

THE EOMAN^ KEPUBLIO TILL THE INVASION OF THE GAULS. 

The Tarquins being expelled, political power fell into the 
Heroic hands of the patricians, under whose government 

Koman" tlic city slowly increased in wealth and popula- 
history. ^-^^^^ g^^ ^^ ^^g ^^^ hcroic period of Roman his- 
tory, and the legends of patriotic bravery are of great 
interest. 

The despotism of Tarquinius Superbus inflamed all classes 

with detestation of the very name of king — the wealthy 

classes, because they were deprived of their anciejit 

The consuls. i 

powers ; the poorer classes, because they were op- 
pressed with burdens. The executive power of the State 
was transferred to two men, called consuls, annually elected 
from the patrician ranks. But they ruled with restricted 
powers, and were shorn of the trappings of royalty. They 
could not nominate priests, and they were amenable to the 
laws after their term of office expired. They were elected 
by the Comitia Centuriata, in which the patrician power 
predominated. They convened the Senate, introduced 
embassadors, and commanded the armies. In public, they 
were attended by lictors, and wore, as a badge of authority, 
a purple border on the toga. 

The Senate, a great power, still retained its dignity. The 

members were elected for life, and were the advi- 

The Senate. i n i i 

sers of the consuls. They were elected by the con- 
suls; but, as the consuls were practically chosen by the 
wealthy classes, men were chosen to the Senate who belonged 
to powerful families. The Senate was a judicial and legisla- 
tive body, and numbered three hundred men. All pien who 



Chap. xxiL] Early Legends. 329 

had held curule magistracies became members. Their decis- 
ions, called Senatus Consulta, became laws — leges. 

The Roman government at this time was purely oligarchic. 
The aristocratic element prevailed. Nobles virtually controlled 
the State. 

Brutus, on the overthrow of the monarchy, was elected the 
first consul, b. c. 507, with L. Tarquinius Collatinus; Brutus the 
but the latter was not allowed to possess his office, ^^* ^^^^^ ' 
from hatred of his family, and he withdrew peaceably to Lavin- 
ium, and Publius Valerius was elected consul in his stead — a 
harsh measure, prompted by necessity. 

The history of Rome at this period is legendary. The 
story goes that Tarquin, at the head of the armies of The legends 

■XT •• -x rr\ • • • 1 • 1 • 1 of ancient 

Veil and iarquinii, seeking to recover his throne, Rome. 
marched against Rome, and that for thirteen years he struggled 
with various success, assisted by Porsena, king of Etruria. 
The legends say Horatius Codes defended a bridge, single- 
handed, against the whole Etrurian army— that Mamilius, the 
ruler of Tusculum, fought a battle at Lake Regilhis, in which 
the cause of Tarquin was lost — the subject of the most beauti- 
ful of Macaulay's lays — and that Mutius Scsevola attempted to 
assassinate Porsena, and, as a proof of his fortitude, held his 
hand in the fire until it was consumed, which act converted 
Porsena into a friend. Another interesting legend is related in 
reference to Brutus, who slew his own sons for their sympathy 
with, and treasonable aid, to the banished king. These stories 
are not history, but still shed light on the spirit Tarquin at- 
of the time. It is probable that Tarquin made des- ^^coveVhis 
perate efforts to recover his dominion, aided by the *^i^oue. 
Etruscans, and that the first wars of the republic were against 
them. 

The Etruscans were then in the height of their power, and 
were in close alliance with the Carthaginians. Etruria was 
a larger State than Latium, from which it was separated by 
the Tiber. It was bounded on the west by the 
Tyrrhenian Sea, on the north by the Apennines, 
and on the east by Umbria. Among the cities w^re Veii and 



330 The Roman RejpulHic, [Chaf. xxii. 

Tarqninii, the latter the birthplace of Tarquinius Priscus, and 
the former the powerful rival of Rome. 

In the war with the Etruscans, the Romans were worsted 
War with and they lost all their territory on the right bank 
cans. '"^' of the Tiber, won by the kings, and were thrown 
back on their original limits. But the Etruscans were driven 
back, by the aid of the Latin cities, beyond the Tiber. It 
took Rome one hundred and fifty years to recover what she 
had lost. 

It was in these wars with the Etruscans that we first read 
of dictators, extraordinary magistrates, appointed 

Dictators. . ,• • i • • * mi t ^ ^ 

in great political exigencies. I he dictator, or com- 
mander, was chosen by one of the consuls, and his authority 
was supreme, but lasted only for six months. He had all 
the powers of the ancient kings. 

The misfortunes of the Romans, in the contest with the 
Etruscans, led to other political changes, and internal 
troubles. The strife between the patricians and the plebeians 
now began, and lasted two centuries before the latter were 
admitted to a full equality of civil rights. The cause of the 
conflict, it would appear, was the uneqnal and burdensome 
Oppression taxatiou to wMch the plebeians were subjected, and 
ofthTpie-^^ especially vexations from the devastations which 
beians. ^^^ produccd. They were small land-owners, and 

their little farms were overrun by the enemy, and they were 
in no condition to bear the burdens imposed upon tliem : 
and this inequality of taxation was the more oppressive, since 
they had no political power. They necessarily incurred 
debts, which were rigorously exacted, and they thus became 
the property of their creditors. 

In their despair, they broke out in open rebellion, in the 
Theirrebei- fifteenth year of the republic, during the consulship 
lion. q|- pu^^iii^s Servilius and Appius Claudius — the 

latter a proud Sabine nobleman, who had lately settled in 
Rome. They took position on a hill between the Anio and 
Tiber, commanding the most fertile part of the Roman ter- 
ritory. The patrician and wealthy classes, abandoned by 



Chap, xxil] The Tribunes. 331 

the farmers, who tilled the lands, were compelled to treat, in 
spite of the opposition of Appius Claudius. And the result 
was, that the plebeians gained a remission of their debts, and 
the appointment cf two magistrates, as protectors, under the 
name of tribunes. 

This new office introduced the first great change in the con- 
dition of the plebeians. The tribunes had the power r^^^ rj,^... 
of putting a stop to the execution of the law which t)unes. 
condemned debtors to imprisonment or a military levy. Their 
jurisdiction extended over every citizen, even over the con- 
sul. There was no appeal from their decisions, except in the 
Comitia Tributa, where the plebeian interest pre- comitiaTri- 
dorainated — an assembly representing the thirty ^"^*' 
Roman tribes, according to the Servian constitution, but 
which, at first, had insignificant powers. The persons of the 
tribunes were inviolable, but their power was negative. 
They could not originate laws; they could insure the 
equitable administration of the laws, and present wrongs. 
They had a constitutional veto, of great use at the time, but 
which ended in a series of dangerous encroachments. 

The oflice of sediles followed that of tribunes. There 
were at first two, selected from plebeians, whose 
duty it was to guard the law creating tribunes, 
which was deposited in the temple of Vesta. They were 
afterward the keepers of the resolutions of the Senate as 
well as of the plebs, and had the care of public buildings, 
and the sanitary police of the city, the distribution of corn, 
and of the public lands, the superintendence of markets and 
measures, the ordering of festivals, and the duty to see that 
no new deities or rites were introduced. 

One year after the victory of the plebeians, a distinguished 
man appeared, who was their bitter enemy. This was Caius 
Marcius, called Coriolanus, from his bravery at 

. y^ . 1. T-rri Coriolantis, 

the capture of a Volscian town, Corioli. When a 
famine pressed the city, a supply of corn was sent by a 
Sicilian prince^ but the proud patrician proposed to the 
Senate to withhold it from the plebeians until they surren- 



332 The Roman RepiMic. [Chap. xxii. 

dered tlieir privileges. The rage of the plebeians was in- 
tense, and he was impeached by the tribunes, and con- 
demned by the popular assembly to exile. He went over, in 
indignation, to the Volscians, became their general, defeated 
the Romans, and marched against their city. In this emer- 
gency, the city was saved by the intercession of his mother, 
Volumnia, who went to seek him in his camp, accompanied 
by other Roman matrons. 

A greater man than he, was Spurius Cassius, Avho ren- 
Snurius dcred public services of the greatest magnitude, 
Cassius. yg^ ^ -msin whose illustrious deeds no poet sang. 
He lived in a great crisis, when the Etruscan war had de- 
stroyed the Roman dominions on the right bank of the Tiber, 
and where the Volscians and ^quians were advancing with 
superior forces. Rome was in danger of being conquered, 
and not only conquered, but reduced to servitude. But he 
concluded a league with the Latins, and also with the Her- 
nicians — a Sabine people, who dwelt in one of the valleys of 
the Apennines, by which the power of Rome was threatened. 
He is also known as the first who proposed an agrarian 
law. It seems that the patricians had occupied 
the public lands to the exclusion of the plebeians. 
Spurius Cassius proposed to the Comitia Centuriata that the 
public domain — land obtained by conquest — ^should be meas- 
ured, and a part reserved for the use of the State, and 
another portion distributed among the needy citizens — a just 
proposition, since no property held by individuals was med- 
dled with. This popular measure was carried against 
violent opposition, but when the term of office of Cassius 
as consul expired, he was accused before the curias, who 
assumed the right to judge a patrician, and he lost his life. 
He was accused of seeking to usurp regal power, because he 
had sought to -protect the commons against his own order. 
" His law Avas buried with him, but its spectre haunted the 
rich, and again and again it arose from its tomb, till the 
ccnflicts to which it led destroyed the commonwealth." 
The following seven years was a period of incessant war 



Chap, xxii.] Ciucinnatus. 333 

with the -^quians and Yeientines, as well as dissensions in the 
city, during which the great house of the Fabii arose to power, 
for Fabius was chosen consul seven successive 

Fab i us. ^ 

years, and even proposed the execution of the 
agrarian law of Cassius, for which he was scorned by the 
patricians, and left Rome in disgust, with his family, and 
all were afterward massacred by the Veientines. But one 
of the tribunes accused the consuls for their opposition of 
the tribunes for the execution of the agrarian law. He was 
assassinated. This violation of the sacred person of a 
tribune created great indignation among the' commons, and 
Volero, a tribune, proposed the celebrated " Publilian Law," 
that the tribunes henceforth, as well as the plebeian gediles, 
should be elected by the plebeians themselves in the Comitia 
Tributa. Great disorders followed, but the com- increased 
mons prevailed, and the Senate adopted the pie- plebeians. 
biscitum, and proposed it to the Comitia Curiata, and it 
became a law. This step raised the authority of the tri- 
bunes, and added to Koman liberties. 

The critical condition of Rome, from the renewed assaults 
of the ^quians and Volscians, led to the appointment of 
another very remarkable man to the dictatorship — L. Quin- 
tius Cincinnatus, a patrician, who maintained the Thedicta- 

XT 7 • -1 TIP torship of 

virtues of better days. He cultivated a little farm Cincinnatus. 
of four jugera with his own hands, and lived with great sim- 
plicity. He summoned every man of military age to meet 
him in the Campus Martins, and these were provided with 
rations for five days. He then marched against the trium- 
phant enemy, surrounded them, and compelled them to sur- 
render. He made no use of his political power, and after 
sixteen days, laid down the dictatorship, and retired to his 
farm, b. c. 458. All subsequent ages and nations have em- 
balmed the memory of this true patriot, who preferred the 
quiet labors of his small farm of three and a half acres to the 
enjoyment of absolute power. 

But his victory was not decisive, and the Romans con- 
tinued to be harassed by the neighboring nations, and they, 



834 The Roman BejpuUiG, [Chap. xxii. 

moreover, suffered all the evils of pestilence. It was at 
this time, in the three hundredth year of the city, that 
they sought to make improvements in their laws — at 
least, to embody laws in a written form. Greece was then 
in the height of her glory, in the interval between the 
Persian and Peloponnesian wars, and thither a commission 
was sent to examine her laws, especially those of Solon, at 
Athens. On the return of the three commissioners, a new 
commission of ten was appointed to draw up a new code, 
composed wholly of patricians, at the head of which was 
Appius Claudius, consul elect, a man of commanding influ- 
ence and talents, but ill-regulated passions and unscrupulous 
ambition. Tlie new code was engraved upon ten tables, and 
subsequently two more tables were added, and these twelve 
tables are the foundation of the Roman jurisprudence, that 
branch of science which the Romans carried to considerable 
perfection, and for which they are most celebrated. The 
jurisprudence of Rome has survived all her conquests, and 
is the most valuable contribution to civilization which she 
ever made. 

The decemvirs — those who codified the laws — came into 
supreme power, and suspended the other great magistracies, 
The decern- and ruled, under the direction of Appius Claudius, 

virs.— Af>piua . . -^ ^ m, • 

Claudius. m an arbitrary and tyrannical manner. Ineir 
power came to an end in a signal manner, and the history 
of their fall is identified with one of the most beautiful 
legends of this heroic age, which is also the subject of one of 
Macaulay's lays. 

Appius Claudius, who perhaps aspired to regal power, 
His injustice became enamored of the daughter of a centurion, 

and punish- . . . „ , . 

ment. L. Virginius. In order to gratify his passions, 

Claudius suborned a false accuser, one of his clients, who was 
to pretend that the mother of Virginia had been his slave. 
Appius sat in judgment, and against his own laws, and also 
the entreaties of the people, declared her to be the slave of 
the accuser. Her father returned from the army, and in his 
indignation plunged a dagger in her breast, preferring her 



Chap. XXII.] A^pius Claudius, 385 

death to shame. The people and soldiers rallied around the 
courageous soldier, took the capitol, and compelled the de- 
cemvirs to lay down their office. The result of this insurrec- 
tion was the creation of ten tribunes instead of the old num- 
ber, and ten continued to be the regular number of tribunes 
till the fall of the republic. It was further decreed that the 
votes of the plebs, passed in the Comitia Tributa, should be 
binding on the whole people, provided they were confirmed 
by the Senate and the assemblies of the curiae and centu- 
ries. The persons of the tribunes were declared to be in- 
violable, under the sanctions of religion, and they, moreover, 
were admitted to the deliberations of .the Senate, though 
without a vote. Thus did the commons ascend another step 
in political influence, b. c. 449. The next movement of the 
commons was to take vengeance on Appius Claudius, who 
ended his life in prison. 

The plebs, now strengthened by the plebeian nobles, who 
sought power through the tribunate, insisted on intermar- 
the abrogation of the law which prevented the beilns^'ind" 
marriage of plebeians with patricians. This was patricians. 
effected four years later, b. c. 445. These then attempted to 
secure the higher magistracies, but this was prevented for a 
time, although they acquired the right of plebeians to be- 
come military tribunes, or chief officer of the legions, but 
none of the plebeians arose to that rank for several years. 

A new office of great dignity was now created, that of 
censors, who were chosen from men who had been 

, T , . , , , 1 Censors. 

consuls, and therefore had higher rank than they. 
It was their dutj^ to superintend the public morals, take the 
census, and administer the finances. They could brand with 
ignominy the highest officers of the State, could elect to the 
Senate, and control, with the sediles, the public buildings and 
works. There were two elected to this high office, and were 
chosen from the patrician ranks till the year b. c. 421, when 
plebeians were admitted. They were ever held in great 
reverence, and enjoyed a larger term of office than the con- 
suls, even of five years. 



336 The Roman Eepublic. [Chap. XXII. 

The commons gained additional importance by the open- 
ino; of the qugestorship to the plebeians, which 

Qujestors. . 

took place about this time. The qusestors virtually 
had charge of the public money, and were the paymasters of 
the army. As these were curule officers, they had, by their 
office, admission to the Senate. Another great increase of 
power among the plebeians, about twenty years after the 
decemviral legislature, was the right, transferred from the 
curiae to the centuries, of determining peace and war. 

While these internal changes were in progress, the State 
was in almost constant war with the Yolscians and JEquians, 
and also with the Etruscans. The former were kept at bay 
by the aid of the Latin and Hernican allies. The latter were 
more formidable foes, and especially the inhabitants of Veil 
— a powerful city in the plain of Southern Etruria, and the 
largest of the confederated Etruscan cities, equal in size to 
Athens, defended by a strong citadel on a hill. The Yeien- 
tines, not willing to contend with the Romans in the field, 
shut themselves up in their strong city, to which the Romans 
The siege laid sieee. Thev drew around it a double line of 

and fall of . ° . "^ . 

Veil. circumvallation, the mner one to prevent egress 

from the city, the outer one to defend themselves against 
external attacks. The siege lasted ten years, as long as that 
of Troy, but was finally taken by the great Camillus, by 
means of a mine under the citadel. The fall of this strong 
place was followed by the submission of all the Etruscan 
cities south of the Ciminian forest, and the lands of the peo- 
ple of Veil were distributed among the whole Roman people, 
at the rate of seven jugera to each landholder, b. c. 396. 

But this event was soon followed by a great calamity to 
Invasion of I^^^^ — the greatest she had ever suffered. The 
the Gauls. q\^j fg}^ i^to the hands of the Gauls — a Celtic race. 
They were ratlier pastoral than agricultural, and reared great 
Habits and numbers of swine. They had little attachment to 

manners of ••,-,•■,■, -r t i r^ -^ -i 

the Gauls, the soil, like the Italians and Germans, and de- 
lighted in towns. Their chief qualities were personal bravery, 
an impetuous temper, boundless vanity, and want of perse- 



Chap XXII.] Borne taken "by the Gauls. 837 

verance. They were good soldiers and bad citizens. They 
were fond of a roving life, and given to pillage. They loved 
ornaments and splendid dresses, and wore a gold collar round 
the neck. After an expedition, they abandoned themselves 
to carousals. They sprung from the same cradle as the Hel- 
lenic, Italian, and German people. Their first great migra- 
tion flowed past the Alps, and we find them in Gaul, Britain, 
and Spain. From these settlements, they proceeded westward 
across the Alps. In successive waves they invaded Italy. 
It was at the height of Etruscan power, that they assumed 
a hostile attitude. From Etruria they proceeded to the 
Roman territories. 

The first battle with these terrible foes resulted disastrously 
to the Romans, who reararded them as half-disci- pisastrous 

' * . battle with 

plined barbarians, and underrated their strength, the Gauis. 
Their defeat was complete, and their losses immense. The 
flower of the Roman youth perished, b. c. 390. 

The victors entered Rome without resistance, while the 
Romans retreated to their citadel, such as were rpj^gfaiiof 
capable of bearing arms. The rest of the popula- ^^°^®' 
tion dispersed. The fathers of the city, aged citizens, and 
priests, seated themselves in the porches of their patrician 
houses, and awaited the enemy. At first, they were mistaken 
for gods, so venerable and calm their appearance ; but the 
profanation of the sacred person of Papirius dissolved the 
charm, and they were massacred. 

The Gauls then attempted to assault the capitol, but failed. 
But a youth, Pontius Cominius, having climbed the hill in the 
night with safety, and opened communication with the 
Romans at Veil, the marks of his passage suggested to the 
Gauls the means of takino; the citadel. In the dead of the 
following night a party of Gauls scaled the g\\% and were 
about to surprise the citadel, when some geese, sacred to Juno, 
cried out and flapped their wings, which noise awakened M. 
Manlius, who rushed to the g\\^ and overpowered 

, T^* Manlius. 

the foremost Gaul. A panic seized the rest, and 

the capitol was saved. At length, when the siege had lasted 

22 



338 The Roman Republic, [Chap. xxii. 

seven months, and famine pressed, the invaders were bought 
off by a ransom of one thousand pounds weight of gold. 
" The iron of the barbarians had conquered ; but they sold 
their victory, and by selling, lost it." They were subse- 
quently defeated by Camillus, and Manlius, surnamed Tor- 
quatus, from the gold collar he took from a gigantic Gaul, 
and also by other generals. 

The destruction of Rome was not a permanent calamity ; 
it was a misfortune. The period which followed was one of 
distress, but the energy of Camillus reorganized the military 
force, and new alliances were made with the Latin cities. 
Etruria, humbled and restricted within narrower limits, and 
moreover enervated by luxury, was in no condition to oppose 
a people inured to danger and sobered by adversity. 

The subsequent fate of Manlius, who saved the city, sug- 
His services g^^^^ the fickleuess and ingratitude of a republican 
and fall. State. The distress of the lower classes, in conse- 
quence of the Gaulish invasion, became intolerable. They 
became involved in debt, and thus were in the power of their 
creditors. Manlius undertook to be their defender, but the 
envy of the patricians caused him to be accused of aspiring 
to the supreme power, and he was, in spite of his great ser- 
vices, sentenced to death and hurled from the Tarpeian rock. 
His error was in premature reform. But, in the year 367 
B. c, the tribunes Licinius and L. Sextius secured the pas- 
sage of three memorable laws in the Curiata Tributa — the 
abolition of the military tribunate, which had increased the 
power of the patricians, and the restoration of the consulate, 
on the condition that one of the consuls should be a plebeian , 
the second, that no citizen should possess more than five 
liundred jugera of the public lands ; and the third, that all 
interest thus paid on loans should be deducted from the prin- 
The Licinian ^ip^l* Thesc wcrc Called the Tiicinian Rogations. 
rogation. ]g^^ ^ ^^^ curulc magistracy was created, as a sort 
of compensation to the patricians, that of praetors, to be held 
by them exclusively. These political changes were made 
peaceably, and with them the old gentile aristocracy ceased 



Chap. XXII.] The Licinian Laws. 339 

to be a political institution. The remaining patrician offices 
were not long withheld from the plebeians. But these politi- 
cal changes did not much ameliorate the social condition of 
the poorer classes. The strictness of the Licinian laws, the 
oppression of the rich, the high rate of interest, and the 
existence of slavery, made the poor poorer, and the rich 
richer, and prevented the expansion of industry. The 
plebeians had gained political privileges, but not till great 
plebeian families had arisen. Power was virtually in the 
hands of nobles, whether patrician or plebeian, and aristo- 
cratic distinctions still remained. The plebeian noble sympa- 
thized with patricians rather than with the poorer classes. 
Debt, usury, and slavery began to bear fruits before the con- 
quest of Italy. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

THE CONQUEST OF ITALY. 

HiTHEETO, the Romans, after the expulsion of the kings, 
were involved in wars with their immediate neigiibors, and 
exposed to great calamities. All they could do for one hun- 
dred and fifty years was to recover the possessions they had 
lost. During this period great prodigies of valor were per- 
formed, and great virtues were generated. It was the heroic 
period of their history, when adversity taught them patience, 
endurance, and public virtue. 

But a new period opens, when the plebeians had obtained 
The period political powcr, and the immediate enemies were 

of conquest . 'if i 

begins. subdued. Ihiswas a period oi conquest over the 

various Italian States. The period is still heroic, but historical. 
Great men arose, of talent and patriotism. The ambition of 
the Romans now prominently appears. They had been 
struggling for existence — they now fought for conquest. 
" The great achievement of the regal period was the estab- 
lishment," says Mommsen, " of the sovereignty of Rome over 
Latium." That was shaken by the expulsion of Tarquin, but 
was re-established in the wars which subsequently followed. 
After the fall of Veil, all the Latin cities became subject to 
the Romans. On the overthrow of the Volscians, the Roman 
armies reached the Samnite territory. 

The next memorable struggle of Rome was with Samnium, 
for the supremacy of Italy. Samnium was a hilly 

Samnium. r j ./ _ ^ j 

country on the east of the Volscians, and its people 
were brave and hardy. The Samnites had, at the fall of 
Veii, an ascendency over Lower Italy, with the exception of 
the Grecian colonies. Tarentum, Croton, Metapontum, 



Chap, xxiil] Hcvolt of the Latins. 341 

Heraclea, N'eapolis, and other Grecian cities, maintained a 
precarious independence, but were weakened by the suc- 
cesses of the Samnites. Capua, the capital of Campania, 
where the Etruscan influence predominated, was taken by 
them, and Cumae was wrested from the Greeks. 

But in the year b. c. 343, the Samnites came in collision 
with Rome, from an application of Capua to Rome for assist- 
ance against them. The victories of Valerius Corvus and 
Cornelius Cossus gave Campania to the Romans. 

In the mean time the Latins had recovered strength, and 
determined to shake off the Roman yoke, and the The Lcatins 

T-> T • ^ -i c^ • \ o T throw off the 

Romans made peace with the bamnites and formed Eomanyoke. 
a close alliance, b. c. 341. The Romans and Samnites were 
ranged against the Latins and Campanians. The hostile 
forces came in sight of each other before Capua, and the first 
great battle was fought at the foot of Mount Vesuvius. It was 
here that Titus Manlius, the son of the consul, was beheaded 
by him for disobedience of orders, for the consuls issued 
strict injunctions against all skirmishing, and Manlius, disre- 
garding them, slew an enemy in single combat. " The 
consul's cruelty was execrated, but the discipline of the 
army was saved." 

This enojag^ement furnishes another lesjend of the heroio 
and patriotic self-devotion of those early Romans. The 
consuls, before the battle, dreamed that the general on the 
one side should fall, and the army on the other side should 
be beaten. Decius, the plebeian consul, when he found his 
troops wavering, called the chief pontiff, and after invoking 
the gods to assist his cause, rushed into the thickest of the 
Latin armies, and was slain. The other consul, Torquatus, 
by a masterly use of his reserve, gained the battle. Three- 
fourths of the Latin army were slain. The Latin Eeconquest 

(, ,.,... , , . . T of the Latin 

cities, after this decisive victory, lost their mde- cities. 
pendence, and the Latin confederacy was dissolved, and 
Latin nationality was fused into one powerful State, and all 
Latium became Roman. Roman citizens settled on the for- 
feited lands of the conquered cities. 



342 The Conquest of Italy. [Chap, xxiii. 

The subjugation of Latium and the progress of Rome in 
Jealousy of Campania filled the Samnites with iealousy, and it 

the Sam- . ^ . . , , ,-,-,, \ n 

nites. IS surpnsmg that they should have lormed an alli- 

ance with Kome, when Rome was conquering Campania. 
They were the most considerable power in Italy, next to 
Rome, and. to them fell the burden of maintaining the inde- 
pendence of the Italian States against the encroachments of 
the Romans. 

The Greek cities of Palsepolis and !N'eapolis, the only 
communities in Campania not yet reduced by the 

The war. _, t -, -, i ^ -, • 

JKomans, gave occasion to the outbreak oi the in- 
evitable war between the Samnites and Romans. The Tar- 
entines and Samnites, informed of the intention of the 
Romans to seize these cities, anticipated the seizure, upon 
which the Romans declared war. and commenced the siege 
of Palsepolis, which soon submitted, on the offer of favora- 
ble terms. An alliance of the Romans with the Lucanians, 
left the Samnites unsupported, except by tribes on the east- 
TheSamnite ^1'^ mountain district. The Romans invaded the 
^^^' Samnite territories, pillaging and destroying as 

far as Apulia, on which the Samnites sent back the Roman 
prisoners and sought for peace. But peace was refused by 
the inexorable enemy, and the Samnites prepared for des- 
perate resistance. They posted themselves in ambush at an 
important pass in the mountains, and shut up the Romans, 
who offered to capitulate. Instead of accepting the capitu- 
lation and making prisoners of the whole army, the Samnite 
general, Caius Pontius, granted an equitable peace. But the 
Roman Senate, regardless of the oaths of their generals, and 
regardless of the six hundred equites who were left as 
hostages, canceled the agreement, and the war was renewed 
with increased exasperation on the part of the Samnites, 
who, however, were sufficiently magnanimous not to sacrifice 
the hostages they held. Rome sent a new army, under 
sie<'e of Lucius Papirius Cursor, and laid siege to Lucania, 
Lucania. where the Roman equites lay in captivity. The 
city surrendered, and Papirius liberated his comrades, and 



Chap. XXIII. ] Samnite War. B43 

retaliated on the Samnite garrison. The war continued, like 
all wars at that period between people of equal courage and 
resources, with various success — sometimes gained by one 
party and sometimes by another, until, in the fifteenth year 
of the war, the Romans established themselves in Apulia, on 
one sea, and Campania, on the other. 

The people of Northern and Central Italy, perceiving that 
the Romans aimed at the complete subjugation of the whole 
peninsula, now turned to the assistance of the Samnites. 
The Etruscans joined their coalition, but were at length sub- 
dued by Papirius Cursor. The Samnites found allies in the 
Umbrians of Northern, and theMarsi and Peligni of Central 
Italy. But these people were easily subdued, and a peace 
was made with Samnium, after twenty-two years' war, 
when Bovianum, its strongest city, was taken by storm, b. c. 
298. 

The defeated nations would not, however, submit to Rome 
without one more final struggle, and the third Samnite war 
was renewed the following year, for which the Samnites 
called to their aid the Gauls. This war lasted nine years, 
and was virtually closed by the great victory of Yictovy of 
Sentinum; — a fiercely contested battle, where the Sentinum. 
Romans, though victorious, lost nine thousand men. Um- 
bria submitted, the Gauls dispersed, and the Etruscans made 
a truce for four hundred months. The Samnites still made 
desj)erate resistance, but were finally subdued in a decisive 
battle, where twenty thousand were slain, and their great gen- 
eral, Pontius, was taken prisoner, with four thousand Sam- 
nites. This misfortune closed the war, but the Samnites 
were not subjected to humiliating terms. The Romans, 
however, sullied their victories by the execution of C. Pon- 
tius, the Samnite general, who had once spared the lives of 
two Roman armies, b. c. 291. Rome now became the ruling 
State of Italy, but there were still two great nations unsub- 
dued — the Etruscans in the north, and the Lucanians in the 
south. 

A new coalition arose against Rome, soon after the Sam- 



844 The Conquest of Italy. [Chap, xxiii. 

nites were subdued, composed of Etruscans, Bruttians, 
New coaii- and Lucaniaus. The war began in Etruria, b. c. 

tion against . ^ . , - ., 

Eome. 283, and continued with alternate successes, until 

the decisive victory at the Yadimonian Lake, gained by 
G. Domitius Calvinus, destroyed forever the power of the 
Etruscans. The attention of Rome was now given to Taren- 
tum, a Greek city, at the bottom of the o^ulf of 

Tarentum. , ' -,. ■, ^ m i • ^ t 

that name, adjacent to the lertiie plain oi Luca- 
nia. This city, which was j)re-eminent among the States of 
Magna Grecia, had grown rich by commerce, and was suffi- 
ciently powerful to defend herself against the Etruscans and 
the Syracusans. It was a Dorian colony, but had aban- 
doned the Lacedaemonian simplicity, and was given over to 
pleasure and luxury ; but, luxurious as it was, it was the only 
obstacle to the supremacy of Rome over Italy. 

This thoughtless and enervated, but great city, ruled by 
demagogues, had insulted Rome — burning and destroying 
some of her ships. It was a reckless insult which Rome 
could not forget, prompted by fear as well as hatred. When 
the Samnite war closed, the Tarentines, fearing the ven- 
geance of the most powerful State in Italy, sent to Pyrrhus, 

kino; of Epirus, a soldier of fortune, for aid. They 

Pyrrhus. o i. ' 7 ^ j 

offered the supreme command of their forces, with 
the right to keep a garrison in their city, till the inde- 
pendence of Italy was secured. 

Pyrrhus, who Avas compared with Alexander of Macedon, 
aspired to found an Hellenic empire in the West, as Alexan- 
der did in the East, and responded to the call of the Taren- 
tines. Rome was not now to contend with barbarians, but 
with Hellenes — with phalanxes and cohorts instead of a mili- 
tia — with a military monarchy and sustained by military 
Marches to sciencc. He landed, b. c. 281, on the Italian shores, 
ance^of ?he "^^^^ ^^ army of twenty thousand veterans in pha- 
Tarentines. lanx, two thousaud archci'S, three thousand caval- 
ry, and twenty elephants. The Tarentine allies promised 
three hundred and fifty thousand infantry and twenty thou- 
sand cavalry to support him. The Romans strained every 



Chap. XXIII.] Pyrvhus. 345 

nerve to meet him before these forces could be collected and 
organized. They marched with a force of fifty thousand 
men, larger than a consular army, under Lpevinus and JEmil- 
ius. They met the enemy on the plain of Herac- Battle of 
lea. Seven times did the legion and phalanx drive ^®'^^'^^«^- 
one or the other back. But the reserves of Pyrrhus, with his 
elephants, to which the Romans were unaccustomed, decided 
the battle. Seven thousand Romans were left dead on the 
field, and an immense number were wounded or taken prison- 
ers. But the battle cost Pyrrhus four thousand of his vete- 
rans, which led him to say that another such victory would 
be his ruin. The Romans retreated into Apulia, but the 
whole south of Italy, Lucania, Samnium, the Bruttii, and 
the Greek cities were the prizes which the conqueror won. 

Pyrrhus then offered peace, since he only aimed to estab- 
lish a Greek power in Southern Italy. The Senate pyrrhus of- 
was disposed to accept it, but the old and blind ^*^^'® i^®^*^®- 
Appius Claudius was carried in his litter through the crowd- 
ed forum — as Chatham, in after times, bowed with infirmities 
and age, was carried to the parliament — and in a vehement 
speech denounced the peace, and infused a new spirit into 
the Senate. The Romans refused to treat with a foreign 
enemy on the soil of Italy. The embassador of Pyrrhus, the 
orator Cineas, returned to tell the conqueror that to fight 
the Romans was to fight a hydra — that their city was a tem- 
ple, and their senators were kings. 

Two new legions were forthwith raised to re-enforce Laevi- 
nus, while Pyrrhus marched direct to Rome. But when he 
arrived within eighteen miles, he found an enemy in his 
front, while Lgevinus harassed his rear. He was obliged 
to retreat, and retired to Tarentum with an im- Retreat of 
mense booty. The next year he opened the cam- Pyriius. 
paign in Apulia ; but he found an enemy of seventy thou- 
sand infantry and eight thousand horse — a force equal to 
his own. The first battle was lost by the Romans, who 
could not penetrate the Grecian phalanx, and were trodden 
down by the elephants. But he could not prosecute his vie- 



346 The Conquest of Italy, [Chap. xxiii. 

tory, his troops melted away, and he again retired to Taren- 
tum for winter quarters. 

Like a military adventurer, he then, for two years, turned 
his forces against the Carthaginians, and relieved Syracuse. 
But he did not avail himself of his victories, being led by a 
generous nature into political mistakes. He then returned 
to Italy to renew his warfare with the Romans. The battle 
Battle of of Benevcntum, gained by Curius, the Roman gen- 
tiun. eral, decided the fate of Pyrrhus. The flower of 

his Ej^irot troops was destroyed, and his camp fell, with 
all its riches, into the hands of the Romans. The king 
of Epirus retired to his own country, and was assassinated 
by a woman at Argos, after he had wrested the crown of 
Macedonia from Antigonus, b. c. 272. He had left, however, 
a garrison, under Milo, at Tarentum. The city fell into the 
hands of the Romans the year that Pyrrhus died. 

With the fall of Tarentum, the conquest of Italy was com- 
Compiete plete. The Romans found no longer any enemies to 

subjugation . , , .1*0 

of Italy. resist them on the penmsula. A great btate was 
organized for the future subjection of the world. The 
conquest of Italy greatly enriched the Romans. Both rich 
and poor became possessed of large grants of land from 
the conquered territories. The conquered cities were incor- 
porated with the Roman State, and their inhabitants became 
Roman citizens or allies. The growth of great plebeian 
families re-enforced the aristocracy, which was based on 
wealth. Italy became Latinized, and Rome was now ac- 
knowledged as one of the great powers of the world. 

The great man at Rome during the period of the Samnite 
Appius wars was Appius Claudius — great grandson of the 
Claudius. decemvir, and the proudest aristocrat that had yet 
appeared. He enjoyed all the great offices of State. To 
him we date many improvements in the city, also the high- 
way which bears his name. He was the patron of art, of 
eloquence, and poetry. But, at this period, all individual 
greatness was lost in the State. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

THE FIRST PUNIO WAJR. 

A CONTEST greater than with Pyrrhus and the Greek 
cities, more memorable in its incidents, and more important 
in its consequences, now awaited the Romans. This was 
with Carthage, the greatest power, next to Rome, in the 
world at that time — a commercial State which had been 
gradually aggrandized for three hundred years. It was a 
rich and powerful city at the close of the Persian wars. It 
had succeeded Tyre as the mistress of the sea. 

We have seen, in the second book, how the Carthagin- 
ians were involved in wars with Syracuse, when that city 
had reached the acme of its power under Dionysius. We 
have also alluded to the early history and power causes of the 
of Carthage. At the time Pyrrhus landed in ^^^^^ ■^'"'• 
Sicily, it contained nearly a million of people, and controlled 
the northern coast of Africa, and the western part of 
the Mediterranean. Carthage was strictly a naval power, 
although her colonies were numerous, and her dependencies 
large. The land forces were not proportionate to the naval ; 
but large armies were necessary to protect her dependencies 
in the constant wars in which she was engaged. These 
armies were chiefly mercenaries, and their main strength 
consisted in light cavalry. 

The territories of Carthage lay chiefly in the islands which 
were protected by her navy and enriched by her Territories 
commerce. Among these insular possessions, Sar- of Carthage. 
dinia was the largest and most important, and was the com- 
mercial depot of Southern Europe. A part of Sicily, also, as 
we have seen (Book ii., chap, xviii,) was colonized and held by 



348 ■ The First Punic War. [Chap. xxiv. 

her, and she aimed at ttie sovereignty of the whole island. 
Sicilian af- Hence the various wars with Syracuse. The Car- 
fairs, thaginians and Greeks were the rivals for the 
sovereignty of this fruitful island, the centre of the oil and 
wine trade, the store-house for all sorts of cereals. Had 
Carthage possessed the whole of Sicily, her fleets would have 
controlled the Mediterranean. 

The embroilment of Carthage with the Grecian States on 
this island was the occasion of the first rupture with Rome. 
Messina, the seat of the pirate republic of the Mamertines, 
was in close alliance with Rhegium, a city which had grown 
into importance during the war with Pyrrhus. Rhegium, 
situated on the Italian side of the strait, solicited 
the protection of Rome, and a body of Campanian 
troops was sent to its assistance. These troops expelled or 
massacred the citizens for whose protection they had been 
sent, and established a tumultuary government. On the 
fall of Tarentum, the Romans sought to punish this outrage, 
and also to embrace the opportunity to possess a town which 
would facilitate a passage to Sicily, for Sicily as truly be- 
longed to Italy as the Peloponnesus to Greece, being sepa- 
rated only by a narrow strait. A Roman army was accord- 
ingly sent to take possession of Rhegium, but the defenders 
made a desperate resistance. It was finally taken by storm, 
and the original citizens obtained repossession, as dependents 
and allies of Rome. The fall of Rhegium robbed the pirate 
city of Messina of the only ally on which it could count, 
and subjected it to the vengeance of both the Carthaginians 
and the Syracusans. The latter were then under the sway 
of Hiero, Avho, for fifty years, had reigned without des- 
potism, and had quietly developed both the resources and 
the freedom of the city. He collected an army of citizens, 
devoted to him, who expelled the Mamertines from many of 
their towns, and gained a decisive victory over them, not far 
from Messina. 

The Mamertines, in danger of subjection by the Syracus- 
ans, then looked for foreign aid. One party looked to Car- 



Chap. XXIV.] Hiero, 349 

thage, and another to Rome. The Carthaginian party pre- 
vailed on the Mamertines to receive a Punic garri- tj^^j^j^^j, 
son. The Romans, seeking a pretext for a war with ^"^tiiies. 
Carthage, sent an army ostensibly to protect Messina against 
Hiero. But the strait which afforded a passage to Sicily 
was barred by a Carthaginian fleet. The Romans, unaccus- 
tomed to the sea, were defeated. Kot discouraged, however, 
they finally succeeded in landing at Messina, and although 
Carthage and Rome were at peace, seized Hanno, the Car- 
thaginian general, who had the weakness to command tho 
evacuation of the citadel as a ransom for his person. 

On this violation of international law, Hiero, who feared 

the Romans more than the Carthao-inians, made an „. 

° . Hiero. 

alliance with Carthage, and the combmed forces 

of Syracuse and Carthage marched to the liberation of Mes- 
sina. The Romans, under Appius, the consul, then made 
overtures of peace to the Carthaginians, and bent their 
energies against Hiero. But Hiero, suspecting the Cartha- 
ginians of treachery, for their whole course with the Syra- 
cusans for centuries had been treacherous, retired to Syra- 
cuse. Upon which the Romans attacked the Carthaginians 
singly, and routed them^ and spread devastation over the 
whole island. 

This was the commencement of the first Punic war, in 
which the Romans were plainly the aggressors. Two con- 
sular armies now threatened Syracuse, when Hiero sought 
peace, which was accepted on condition of provisioning the 
Roman armies, and paying one hundred talents to liberate 
prisoners. 

The first Punic war began b. c. 264, and lasted twenty- 
four years. Before we present the leading events of that 
memorable struggle, let ns glance at the power of Carthage — • 
the formidable rival of Rome. 

As has been narrated, Carthage was founded upon a 
peninsula, or rocky promontory, sixty-five years Wealth and 
before the foundation of Rome. The inhabitants of of Carthage. 
Carthage, descendants of Phoenicians, were therefore of Semi- 



350 TTie First Funic War. [Chap. xxiv. 

tic origin. The African farmer was a Canaanite, and all the 
Canaanites lacked the instinct of political life. The Phoeni- 
cians thought of commerce and wealth, and not political 
aggrandizement. With half their power, the Hellenic cities 
achieved their independence. Carthage was a colony of 
Phoenicians, and had their ideas. It lived to traffic and get 
rich. It was washed on all sides, except the west, by the 
sea, and above the city, on the western heights, was the 
citadel Byrsa, called so from the word (iogaa, a hide, accord- 
ing to the legend that Dido, when she came to Africa, 
bought of the inhabitants as much land as could be encom- 
passed by a bull's hide, which she cut into thongs, and 
inclosed the territory on which she built the citadel. The 
city grew to be twenty-three miles in circuit, and contained 
seven hundred thousand people. It had two harbors, an 
outer and inner, the latter being surrounded by a lofty wall. 
A triple wall was erected across the peninsula, to protect it 
from the west, three miles long, and between the walls were 
stables for three hundred elephants, four thousand horses, 
and barracks for two thousand infantry, with magazines and 
stores. In the centre of the inner harbor was an island, called 
Cothon, the shores of which were lined with quays and 
docks for two hundred and twenty ships. The citadel, Byrsa, 
was two miles in circuit, and when it finally surrendered to 
the Romans, fifty thousand people marched out of it. On 
its summit was the famous temple of JEsculapius. At the 
northwestern angle of the city were twenty immense reser- 
voirs, each four hundred feet by twenty-eight, filled with 
water, brought by an aqueduct at a distance of fifty-two 
miles. The suburb Megara, beyond the city walls, but 
within those that defended the peninsula, was the site of 
Power of magnificent gardens and villas, which were adorned 
Carthage. ^^^j^ evcry kind of Grecian art, for the Cartha- 
ginians were rich before Rome had conquered even Latium. 
This great city controlled the other Phoenician cities, part of ^ 
Sicily, Numidia, Mauritania, Lybia — in short, the northern 
part of Africa, and colonies in Spain and the islands of the 



Chap. XXIV.] The Power of Carthage. 351 

western part of the Mediterranean. The city alone could 
furnish in an exigency forty thousand heavy infantry, one 
thousand cavahy, and twenty thousand war chariots. The 
garrison of the city amounted to twenty thousand foot and 
four thousand horse, and the total force which the city could 
command was more than one hundred thousand men. The 
navy was the largest in the world, for, in the sea-fight with 
Regulus, it numbered three hundred and fifty ships, carrying 
one hundred and fifty thousand men. 

Such was this great power against which the Romans 
were resolved to contend. It would seem that Carthage 
was willing that Rome should have the sovereignty of Italy, 
provided it had itself the possession of Sicily. But this was 
what the Romans were determined to prevent. The object 
of contention, then, between these two rivals, the one all- 
powerful by land and the other by sea, was the possession of 
Sicily. 

During the first three years of the war, the Romans made 
themselves masters of all the island, except the creation of a 
maritime fortresses at its western extremity, Eoman fleet. 
Eryx and Panormus. Meanwhile the Carthaginians ravaged 
the coasts of Italy, and destroyed its commerce. The Romans 
then saw that Sicily could not be held without a navy as 
powerful as that of their rivals, and it was resolved to build 
at once one hundred and twenty ships. A Carthaginian 
quinquereme, wrecked on the Bruttian shore, furnished the 
model, the forests of Sila the timber, and the maritime cities 
of Italy and Greece, the sailors. In sixty days a fleet of 
one hundred and twenty ships was built and ready for sea. 
The superior seamanship of the Carthaginians was neutral- 
ized by converting the decks into a battle-field for soldiers. 
Each ship was provided with a long boarding-bridge, hinged 
up against the mast, to be let down on the prow, and fixed 
to the hostile deck by a long spike, which projected from its 
end. The bridge was wide enough for two soldiers to pass 
abreast, and its sides were protected by bulwarks. 

The first encounter of the Romans with the Carthaginians 



852 The First Punic War, [Chap. xxiv. 

resulted in the capture of the whole force, a squadron of 
seventeen ships. The second encounter ended in the capture 
Naval battle ^^ niore ships than the Roman admiral, Cn. Scipio, 
of Myiae. ^i^d,^ \^^^^ rpj^g j^g^t battle, that of Mylse, in which 
the whole Roman fleet was engaged, again turned in favor 
of the Romans, whose bad seamanship provoked the con- 
tempt of their foes, and led to self-confidence. The battle 
was gained by grappling the enemy's ships one by one. The 
Carthaginians lost fourteen ships, and only saved the rest 
by inglorious flight. 

For six years no decided victories were won by either 
Great victory ^^^^5 ^^* ^^ *^® year B. c. 256, nine years from the 
of Eeguius. commencement of hostilities, M. Atilius Regulus, 
a noble of the same class and habits as Cincinnatus and 
Fabricius, with a fleet of three hundred and thirty ships, 
manned by one hundred thousand sailors, encountered the 
Carthaginian fleet of three hundred and fifty ships on the 
southern coast of Sicily, and gained a memorable victory. 
It was gained on the same principle as Epaminondas and 
Alexander won their battles, by concentrating all the forces 
upon a single point, and breaking the line. The Romans 
advanced in the shape of a wedge, with the two consuls' 
ships at the apex. The Carthaginian admirals allowed the 
centre to give way before the advancing squadron. The 
right wing made a circuit out in the open sea, and took the 
Roman reserve in the rear, while the left wing attacked the 
vessels that were towing the horse transports, and forced 
them to the shore. But the Carthaginian centre, being thus 
left weak, was no match for the best ships of the Romans, 
and the consuls, victorious in the centre, turned to the relief 
of the two rear divisions. The Carthaginians lost sixty-four 
ships, which were taken, besides twenty-four which were 
sunk, and retreated with the remainder to the Gulf of Car- 
thage, to defend the shores against the anticipated attack. 

The Romans, however, made for another point, and landed 
other Vic- in the harbor of Aspis, intrenched a camp to pro- 
Pe^uius. tect their ships, and ravaged the country. Twenty 



Chap. XXIV.] Hamiloar. 353 

thousand captives were sent to Rome and sold as slaves, 
besides an immense booty — a number equal to a fifth part of 
the free population of the city. A footing in Africa was 
thus made, and so secure were the Romans, that a large part 
of the army was recalled, leaving Regulus with only forty 
ships, fifteen thousand infantry, and five hundred cavalry. 
Yet with this small army he defeated the Carthaginians, and 
became master of the country to within ten miles of Carthage. 
The Carthaginians, shut up in the city, sued for peace ; but 
it was granted only on condition of the cession of Sicily and 
Sardinia, the surrender of the fleet, and the reduction of Car- 
thage to the condition of a dependent city. Such a proposal 
was rejected, and despair gave courage to the defeated Car- 
thaginians. 

They made one grand effort while Regulus lay inactive in 
winter quarters. The return of Hamilcar from 

o- M • 1 1 • 1 ^ • -I T Hamilcar. 

feicily With veteran troops, which furnished a nu- 
cleus for a new army, inspired the Carthaginians with hope, 
and assisted by a Lacedaemonian general, Xanthippus, with a 
band of Greek mercenaries, the Carthaginians marched un- 
expectedly upon Regulus, and so signally defeated him at 
Tunis, that only two thousand Romans escaped. Regulus, 
with five hundred of the legionary force, was taken captive 
and carried to Carthage. 

The Carthaginians now assumed the offensive, and Sicily 
became the battle-field. Hasdrubal, son of Hanno, 
landed on the island with one hundred and forty 
elephants, while the Roman fleet of three hundred ships 
suffered a great disaster off the Lucanian promontory. A 
storm arose, which wrecked one hundred and fifty ships — a 
disaster equal to the one which it suffered two years before, 
when two-thirds of the large fleet which was sent to relieve 
the two thousand troops at Clupea was destroyed by a 
similar storm. In spite of these calamities, the Romans took 
Panormus and Thermae, and gained a victory under the 
walls of the former city which cost the Carthaginians twenty 
thousand men and the capture of one hundred and twenty 

23 



354 The First Punic War. [Chap. xxiv. 

elephants. This success, gained by Metellus, was the greatest 
yet obtained in Sicily, and the victorious general adorned his 
triumph with thirteen captured generals and one hundred 
and four elephants. 

The two maritime fortresses which still held out at the 
west of the island, Drepanum and Lilybaeura, were now in- 
vested, and the Carthaginians, shut up in these fortresses, sent 
an embassy to Rome to ask an exchange of prisoners, and sue 
Imprison- for peacc. Rcofulus, now five years a prisoner, was 

ment of -•■ s : J i •> ^ 

Eeguius. allowed to accompany the embassy, on his promise 
to return if the mission was unsuccessful. As his condition 
was now that of a Carthaginian slave, he was reluctant to 
enter the city, and still more the Senate, of which he was no 
lono'er a member. But when this reluctance was overcome, 
he denounced both the peace and the exchange of prisoners. 
The Romans wished to retain this noble patriot, but he was 
true to his oath, and returned voluntarily to Carthage, after 
Death of having defeated the object of the embassadors, 
Eeguius. knowing that a cruel death awaited him. The 
Carthaginians, indignant and filled with revenge, it is said, 
exposed the hero to a burning sun, with his eyelids cut off, 
and rolled him in a barrel lined with iron spikes. 

The embassy having thus failed, the attack on the for- 
tresses, which alone linked Africa with Sicily, was renewed. 
The siege of Lilybseum lasted till the end of the war, which, 
from the mutual exhaustion of the parties, now languished 
for six years. The Romans had lost four great fleets, three 
of which had armies on board, and the census of the city, in 
the seventeenth year, showed a decrease of forty thousand 
citizens. During this interval of stagnation, when petty 
Hamiicar Warfare alone existed, Hamilcar Barca was ap- 
Barca. pointed general of Carthage, and in the same year 

his son Hannibal was born, b. c. 247. 

The Romans, disgusted with the apathy of the govern- 
ment, fitted out a fleet of privateers of two hundred shij)s, 
manned by sixty thousand sailors, and this fleet gained a 
victory over the Carthaginians, unprej)ared for such a force, 



Chap. XXIV.] Acquisition of Sicily. 855 

so that fifty ships were sunk, and seventy more were carried 
by the victors into port. This victory gave Sicily conquest of 
to the Romans, and ended the war. The Koman ^^^^^y- 
prisoners were surrendered by Hamilcar, who had full powers 
for peace, and Carthage engaged to pay three thousand two 
hundred talents for the expenses of the war. 

The Romans were gainers by this war. They acquired 
the richest island in the world, fertile in all the Acquisition 
fruits of the earth, with splendid harbors, cities, oisiciiy. 
and a great accumulation of wealth. The long war of 
twenty-four years, nearly a whole generation, was not con- 
ducted on such a scale as essentially to impoverish the con- 
tending parties. There were no debts contracted for future 
generations to pay. It was the most absorbing object of 
public interest, indeed ; but many other events and subjects 
must also have occupied the Roman mind. It was a foreign 
war, the first that Rome had waged. It was a war of am- 
bition, the commencement of those unscrupulous and aggress- 
ive measures that finally resulted in the political annihila- 
tion of all the other great powers of the world. 

But this war, compared with those foreign wars which 
Rome subsequently conducted, was carried on without 
science and skill. It was carried on in the transition period 
of Roman warfare, when tactics were more highly prized 
than strategy. It was by a militia, and agricultural generals, 
and tactics, and personal bravery, that the various Italian 
nations were subdued, when war had not ripened into a 
science, such as was conducted even by the Greeks. There 
was no skill or experience in the conduct of sieges. The 
navy was managed by Greek mercenaries. 

The great improvement in the science of war which this 
first contest with a foreign power led to, was the Creation of a 

^ ^ . „ , . Eonian naval 

creation of a navy, and the necessity of employing power. 
veteran troops, led by experienced generals. A deliberative 
assembly, like the Senate, it was found could not conduct a 
foreign war. It was left to generals, who were to learn 
marches and countermarches, sieges, and a strategical sys- 



356 ' The First Punic War, [Chap. xxiv. 

tern. The withdrawal of half the army of Regulus by the 
Senate proved nearly fatal. Carthage could not be subdued 
by that rustic warfare which had sufficed for the conquest 
of Etruria or Samnium. The new system of war demanded 
generals who had military training and a military eye, and 
not citizen admirals. The final success was owing to the 
errors of the Carthaginians rather than military science. 



CHAPTEE XXV. 

THE SECOND PTJNIO OR HANNIBALIO WAR. 

The peace between the Carthaginians and Romans was a 
mere truce. Though it lasted twenty-one years, new sources 
of quarrel were accumulating, and forces were being pre- 
pared for a more decisive encounter. 

Before we trace the progress of this still more memorable 
war, let us glance at the events which transpired in the 
interval between it and the first contest. 

That interval is memorable for the military career of 
Hamilcar, and his great ascendency at Carthage, condition of 
That city paid dearly for the peace it had secured, after tfe 
for the tribute of Sicily flowed into the treasury of ^^^' 
the Romans. Its commercial policy was broken up, and the 
commerce of Italy flowed in new channels. This change 
was bitterly felt by the Phoenician city, and a party was soon 
organized for the further prosecution of hostilities. There 
was also a strong peace party, made up of the indolent and 
cowardly money-worshipers of that mercantile State. The 
war party was headed by Hamilcar, the peace party by 
Hanno, which at first had the ascendency. It drove the 
army into mutiny by haggling about pay. The Libyan 
mercenaries joined the revolt, and Carthage found herself 
alone in the midst of anarchies. In this emergency the 
government solicited Hamilcar to save it from the effect of 
its blunders and selfishness. 

This government, as at Rome, was oligarchic, but the 
nobles were merely mercantile grandees, without ability — 
jealous, exclusive, and selfish. The great body of the people 
whom they ruled were poor and dependent. In intrusting 



358 The Second Punic War. [Chap. XXV. 

power to Hamilcar, the government of Tvealthy citizens only 

gave him military control. The army which he 

commanded was not a citizen militia, it was made 

up of mercenaries. Hamilcar was obliged to construct a 

force from these, to whom the State looked for its salvation. 

He was a young man, a little over thirty, and foreboding 
that he would not live to complete his plans, enjoined his 
son Hannibal, nine years of age, when he was about to leave 
Carthage, to swear at the altar of the Eternal God hatred of 
the Roman name. 

He left Carthage for Spain, taking with him his sons, to be 
reared in the camp. He marched along the coast, accompanied 
by the fleet, which was commanded by Hasdrubal. 
He crossed the sea at the Pillars of Hercules, with 
the view of organizing a Spanish kingdom to assist the Car- 
thaginians in their future warfare. But he died prematurely, 
B. c. 229, leaving his son-in-law, Hasdrubal, to carry out his 
designs, and the southern and eastern provinces of Spain 
became Carthaginian provinces. Carthagena arose as the 
capital of this new Spanish kingdom, in the territory of the 
Contestana. Here agriculture flourished, and still more, 
mining, from the silver mines, which produced, a century 
afterward, thirty-six millions of sesterces — nearly two million 
dollars — yearly. Carthage thus acquired in Spain a market 
for its commerce and manufactures, and the New Carthasje 
ruled as far as the Ebro. But the greatest advantage of 
this new acquisition to Carthage was the new class of merce- 
nary soldiers which were incorporated with the army. At 
first, the Romans were not alarmed by the rise of this new 
Spanish power, and saw only a compensation for the tribute 
and traffic which Carthage had lost in Sicily. And while 
the Carthaginians were creating armies in Spain, the 
Romans were engaged in conquering Cisalpine Gaul, and 
consolidating the Italian conquests. 

Hasdrubal was assassinated after eight years of successful 
„ ,^ , administration, and Hannibal was hailed as his 

HsMiibal. ' 

successor by the army, and the choice was con- 



Chap. XXV.] Hannibal, 359 

firmed by the Carthaginians, b. c. 221. He was now twenty- 
nine, trained to all the fatigue and dangers of the camp, 
and with a native genius for war, which made him, according 
to the estimation of modern critics, the greatest general of 
antiquity. He combined courage with discretion, and 
prudence with energy. He had an inventive craftiness, which 
led him to take unexpected routes. He profoundly studied 
the character of antagonists, and kept himself informed of 
the projects of his enemies. He had his spies at Rome, and 
was frequently seen in disguises in order to get important 
information. 

This crafty and able general resolved, on his nomination, 
to make war at once upon the Romans, whom he regarded 
as the deadly foe of his country. His first great exploit was 
the reduction of Saguntum, an Iberian city on the paii of 
coast, in alliance with the Romans. It defended ^^0^°*"°^- 
itself with desperate energy for eight months, and its siege 
is memorable. The inhabitants were treated with savage 
cruelty, and the spoil was sent to Carthage. 

This act of Hannibal was the occasion, though not the 
cause, of the second Punic war. The Romans, indignant, 
demanded of Carthage the surrender of the general who had 
broken the peace. On the fall of Sasjuntum, Han- Hannibal 

•^ . retires to 

mbal retired to Carthagena for wmter quarters, Carthagena. 
and to make preparations for the invasion of Italy. He col- 
lected an army of one hundred and twenty thousand infantry, 
sixteen thousand cavalry, and fifty-eight elephants, assisted 
by a naval force. But the whole of this great army was not 
designed for the Italian expedition. A part of it was sent 
for the protection of Carthage, and a part was reserved for 
the protection of Spain, the government of which he intrusted 
to his brother Hasdrubal. 

The nations of the earth, two thousand years ago, would 
scarcely appreciate the magnitude of the events which were 
to follow from the invasion of Italy, and the war which fol- 
lowed — perhaps " the most memorable of all the wars ever 
waged," certainly one of the most memorable in human 



360 The Second Funic War, [Chap. xxv. 

annals. The question at issue was, whether the world was 
He prepares to be oTOvemed bv a commercial oliorarchy, with 

for vigorous „ , ° . . . , ^ ° /' 

war. all the superstitions oi the JLast, or by the laws 

of a free and patriotic State. It was a war waged between 
the genius of a mighty general and the resources of the 
Koman people, for Hannibal did not look for aid so much to 
his own State, as to those hardy Spaniards who followed his 
standard. 

In the spring, b. c. 218, Hannibal set out from ISTew Car- 
Crossesthe t^i^g^ with an army of ninety thousand infantry 
Ebro. and twelve thousand cavalry. He encountered at 

the Ebro the first serious resistance, but this was from the 
natives, and not the Romans. It took four months to sur- 
mount their resistance, during which he lost one-fourth of 
his army. As it was his great object to gain time before the 
Romans could occupy the passes of the Alps, he made this 
sacrifice of his men. When he reached the Pyrenees, he 
sent home a part of his army, and crossed those mountains 
with only fifty thousand infantry and nine thousand cavalry ; 
but these were veteran troops. He took the coast route by 
ISTarbonne and Nimes, through the Celtic territory, and 
encountered no serious resistance till he reached the Rhone, 
opposite to Avignon, about the end of July. The passage 
was disputed by Scij^io, assisted by friendly Gauls, but Han- 
nibal outflanked his enemies by sending a detachment across 
the river, on rafts, two days' march higher up, and thus easily 
forced the passage, and was three days' march beyond the 
river before Scipio was aware that he had crossed. Scipio 
then sailed back to Pisa, and aided his colleague to meet the 
invader in Cisalpine Gaul. 

Hannibal, now on Celtic territory on the Roman side 
of the Rhone, could not be prevented from reaching the Alps. 
Two passes then led from the lower Rhone across the Alps — 
the one by the Cottian Alps (Mount Geneva) ; and the other, 
Hannibal the higher pass of the Graian Alps (Mount St. Ber- 

crosses the c:' x ^ \ ^ 

Alps. nard), and this was selected by Hannibal. The 

task of transporting a large army over even this easier pass 



Chap. XXV.] Passage of the Al^s, 361 

was a work of great difficulty, with baggage, cavalry, and 
elephants, when the autumn snows were falling, resisted by 
the mountaineers, against whom they had to fight to the very 
summit of the pass. The descent, though free from ene- 
mies, was still more dangerous, and it required, at one place, 
three days' labor to make the road practicable for the ele- 
phants. The army arrived, the middle of September, in the 
plain of Ivrea, where his exhausted troops were quartered 
in friendly villages. Had the Romans met him near Turin 
with only thirty thousand men, and at once forced a battle, 
the prospects of Hannibal would have been doubtful. But 
no army appeared ; the object was attained, but with the loss 
of half his troops, and the rest so demoralized by fatigue, that 
a long rest was required. 

The great talents by which Scipio atoned for his previous 
errors now extricated his army from destruction. 

Scipio. 

He retreated across the Ticinus and the Po, refus- 
ing a pitched battle on the plains, and fell back upon a 
strong position on the hills. The united consular armies, 
forty thousand men, were so posted as to compel Hannibal 
to attack in front with inferior force, or go into winter 
quarters, trusting to the doubtful fidelity of the Gauls. 

It has been well said, "that it was the misfortune of 
Rome's double magistracy when both consuls were present 
on the field." Owing to a wound which Scipio had received, 
the command devolved upon Sempronius, who, eager for dis- 
tinction, could not resist the provocations of Hannibal to 
bring on a battle. In one of the skirmishes the Roman cav- 
alry and light infantry were enticed by the flying Numidiana 
across a swollen stream, and suddenly found themselves 
before the entire Punic army. The whole Roman force hur- 
ried across the stream to support the vaniiuard. Battle ofthe 

All 11 irfi« Ti« Trasimene 

A battle took place on the Irasimene Lake, ni Lake, 
which the Romans were sorely beaten, but ten thousand 
infantry cut their way through the masses of the enemy, and 
reached the fortess of Placentia, where they were joined by 
othei bands. After this success, which gave Hannibal all of 



362 The Second Punio War. [Chap. xxv. 

Northern Italy, his army, sufiering from fatigue and disease, 
retired into winter quarters. He now had lost all his ele- 
phants but one. The remains of the Roman army passed the 
winter in the fortresses of Placentia and Cremona. 

The next spring, the Romans, under Flaminius, took the 
field, with four legions, to command the great northern and 
eastern roads, and the passes of the A2Dpenines. But Hanni- 
Hannibai in ^^h kuowiug that Rome was only vulnerable at 
**^^" the heart, rapidly changed his base, crossed the 

Apennines at an undefended pass, and advanced, by the 
lower Arno, into Etruria, while Flaminius was watching by 
the upper course of that stream. Flaminius was a mere j)arty 
leader and demagogue, and was not the man for such a crisis, 
for Hannibal was allowed to pass by him, and reach Faesulae 
unobstructed. The Romans prepared themselves for the 
worst, broke down the bridges over the Tiber, and nominated 
Quintus Fabius Maximus dictator. 

Pyrrhus would have marched direct upon Rome, but Han- 
nibal was more far-sighted. His army needed a new organi- 
zation, and rest, and recruits, so he marched unexpectedly 
Hannibal throusjh Umbria, devastated the country, and 

marches to 5^ * t . . tt i 

the Adriatic, halted on the shores oi the Adriatic. Here he 
rested, reorganized his Libyan cavalry, and resumed his com- 
munication with Carthage. He then broke up his camp, and 
marched into Southern Italy, hoping to break up the confed- 
eracy. But not a single Italian town entered into alliance 
with the Carthaginians. 

Fabius, the dictator, a man of great prudence, advanced 
in years, and a tactician of the old Roman school, determined 
to avoid a pitched battle, and starve or weary out his enemy. 
Hannibal adjusted his plans in accordance with the character 
of the man he opposed. So he passed the Roman army, 
crossed the Apennines, took Telesia, and turned against 
Capua, the most important of all the Italian dependent cities, 
hoping for a revolt among the Campanian towns. 
Here again he w^as disappointed. So, retracing 
Ms steps, he took the road to Apulia, the dictator follow- 



Chap. XXV.] Battle of Cannon. 363 

ing him along the heiglits. So the summer was consumed 
by marchings and countermarchings, the lands of the His- 
panians, Campanians, Samnites, Pelignians, and other prov- 
inces, being successively devastated. But no important 
battle was fought. He selected then the rich lands of Apu- 
lia for winter quarters, and intrenched his camp at Gerunium. 
The Romans formed a camp in the territory of the Efforts of 
Larinates, and harassed the enemy's foragers. ^^^ ^^'^^'^^s- 
This defensive policy of Fabius wounded the Roman pride, 
and the dictator became unpopular. The Senate resolved to 
depart from a policy which was slowly but surely ruining 
the State, and an army was equipped larger than Rome ever 
before sent into the field, composed of eight legions, under 
the command of the two consuls, L. ^milius Paulus, and M. 
Terentius Varro. The former, a patrician, had conducted 
successfully the Illyrian war; the latter, the popular candi- 
date, incapable, conceited, and presumptuous. 

As soon as the season allowed him to leave his winter- 
quarters, Hannibal, assuming the offensive, marched out of 
Geronium, passed Luceria, crossed the Aufidus, and took the 
citadel of Cannae, which commanded the plain of Canusium. 
The Roman consuls arrived in Apulia in the beginning of the 
summer, with eighty thousand infantry and six thousand 
cavalry. Hannibal's force was forty thousand infantry and 
ten thousand cavalry, inured to regular warfare. The Romans 
made up their minds to fight, and confronted the Carthagin- 
ians on the right bank of the Aufidus. According to a foolish 
custom, the command devolved on one of the consuls every 
other day, and Varro determined to avail himself of the first 
opportunity for a battle. The forces met on the plain west 
of Cannae, more favorable to the Carthaginians than the Ro- 
mans, on account of the superiority of the cavalry. Battle of 
It is difficult, without a long description, to give ^^'^^' 
clear conceptions of this famous battle. Hannibal, it would 
seem, like Epaminondas and Alexander, brought to bear his 
heavy cavalry, under Hasdrubal, upon the weakest point of 
the eneiuy, after the conflict had continued awhile without 



364 The Second Punic War. [Chap. xxv. 

decisive results. The weaker right of the Roman army, led 
by Paulas, after bravely fighting, were cut down and driven 
across the river. Paulus, wounded, then rode to the centre, 
composed of infantry in close lines, which had gained an 
advantage over the Spanish and Gaulish troops that encoun- 
tered them. In order to follow up this advantage, the legions 
pressed forward in the form of a wedge. In this position the 
Its great con- Libyan infantry, wheeling upon them right and 
iequences. -j^^^^^ warmly assailcd both sides of the Roman 
infantry, which checked its advance. By this double flank 
attack the Roman infantry became crowded, and were not 
free. Meanwhile, Ilasdrubal, after defeating the right wing, 
which had been led by Paulus, led his cavalry behind the 
Roman centre and attacked the left wing, led by Yarro. 
The cavalry of Yarro, opposed by the Numidian 
cavalry, was in no condition to meet this double 
attack, and was scattered. Hasdrubal again rallied his cav- 
alry, and led it to the rear of the Roman centre, already in 
close fight with the Spanish and Gaulish infantry. This last 
charge decided the battle. Flight was impossible, for the 
river was in the rear, and in front was a victorious enemy. 
No quarter was given. Seventy thousand Romans were 
slain, including the consul Paulus and eighty men of sena- 
torial rank. Yarro was saved by the speed of his horse. 
The Carthaginians lost not quite six thousand. 

This immense disaster was the siornal for the revolt of the 
„ ,^ , allies, which Hannibal, before in vain had souscht 

Eevoltof ' ' » 

allies. to procurc. Capua 023ened her gates to the con- 

queror. Nearly all the people of Southern Italy rose against 
Rome. But the Greek cities of the coast were held by 
Roman garrisons, as well as the fortresses in Apulia, Cam- 
pania, and Samnium. The news of the battle of Cannae, B.C. 
216, induced the Macedonian king to promise aid to Han- 
nibal. The death of Hiero at Syracuse made Sicily an enemy 
to Rome, while Carthage, now elated, sent considerable 
re-enforcements. 

Many critics have expressed surprise that Hannibal, after 



Chap. XXV.] Fortitude of the Romans, 365 

this great victory, did not at once march upon Rome. Had 
he conquered, as Alexander did, a Persian, Orien- „,. ^ 

A ' ^ ' ' Wisdom of 

tal, effeminate people, this might have been his nannibai. 
true policy. But Rome was still capable of a strong de- 
fense, and would not have succumbed under any pressure of 
adverse circumstances, and she also was still strong: in allies. 
And more, Hannibal had not perfected his political combi- 
nations. He was not ready to strike the final blow. He had 
to keep his eye on Macedonia, Africa, Sicily, and Sjoain. 
Alexander did not march to Babylon, until he had subdued 
Ph(]enicia and Egypt. Even the capture of Rome would not 
prevent a long war with the States of Italy. 

Nor did the Romans lose courage when they learned the 
greatest calamity which had ever befallen them. They 
made new and immense prej)arations. Altthe reserve forces 
were called out— all men capable of bearing arms poi-^^t^^^g of 
— young or old. Even the slaves were armed, after *^® Romans. 
being purchased by the State, and made soldiers. Spoils 
were taken down from the temples. The Latin cities sent in 
contingents, and the Senate refused to receive even the 
envoy of the conqueror. 

Such courage and fortitude and energy were not without 
effect, while the enervating influence of Capua, the 
following winter, demoralized the Carthaginians. 
The turning point of the war was the winter which followed 
the defeat at Cannse. The great aim of Hannibal, in his 
expedition to Italy, had been to break up the Italian confed- 
eracy. After three campaigns, that object was only imper- 
fectly accomplished, in spite of his victories, and he had a 
great frontier to protect. With only forty thousand men, 
he could not leave it uncovered, and advance to Rome. 
The Romans, too, learning wisdom, now appointed only gen- 
erals of experience, and continued them in command. 

The animating soul of the new warfare was Marcus Claud- 
ius Marcellus, a man fifty years of aofe, who had „ 

' , . . . Marcellus. 

received a severe military trainmg, and performed 

acts of signal heroism. He was not a general to be a mero 



366 The Second Punic War, [Chap. XXV. 

spectator of the movements of the enemy from the hills, but 
to take his position in fortified camps under the walls of for- 
tresses. With the two legions saved from Cannae, and the 
troops raised from Rome and Ostia, he followed Hannibal to 
Campania, while other Roman armies were posted in other 
quarters. 

Hannibal now saw that without great re-enforcements from 
Carthage, Spain, Macedonia, and Syracuse, he would be 
obliged to fight on the defensive. But the Carthaginians 
sent only congratulations; the king of Macedonia failed 
in courage; while the Romans intercepted supplies from 
Syracuse and Spain. Hannibal was left to his own re- 
sources. 

Scipio, meanwhile, in Spain, attacked the real base of Han- ^ 
nibal, overran the country of the Ebro, secured the 
passes of the Pyrenees, and defeated Hasdrubal 
while attempting to lead succor to his brother. The capture 
of Saguntum gave the Romans a strong fortress between the 
Ebro and Carthagena. Scipio even meditated an attack on 
Africa, and induced Syphax, king of one of the Numidian 
nations, to desert Carthage, which caused the recall of 
Hasdrubal from Spain. His departure left Scipio master of 
the peninsula; but Hasdrubal, after punishing the disaf- 
fected ISTumidians, returned to Spain, and with overwhelm- 
ing numbers regained his ascendency, and Scipio was slain, 
as well as his brother, and their army routed. 

It has been mentioned that on the death of Hiero, who 
had been the long-tried friend of Rome, Syracuse threw her 
Eevoitof influence in favor of Carthage, being ruled by 
Syracuse. factious. Again st this revolted city the consul 
Marcellus now advanced, and invested the city by land and 
sea. He was foiled by tlie celebrated • mathematician Archim- 
edes, who constructed engines which destroyed the 

Arcliiiiiedes. . 

Roman ships. This very great man advanced the 
science of geometry, and made discoveries which rank him. 
among the lights of the ancient world. His theory of the 
lever was the foundation of statics till the time of New- 



Chap. XXV.] Siege of Syracuse, 367 

ton. His discovery of the method of determining specific 
gravities by immersion in a fluid was equally memorable. He 
was not only the greatest mathematician of the old world, 
but he applied science to practical affairs, and compelled 
Marcellus to convert the sieg^e of Svracuse into a blockade. 
He is said to have launched a ship by the pressure of the 
screw, which, reversed in its operation, has revolutionized 
naval and commercial marines. 

The time gained by this eminent engineer, as well as geom- 
eter, enabled the Carthaginians to send an army to relieve 
Syracuse. The situation of Marcellus was critical, gje^e of 
when, by a fortunate escalade of the walls, left un- ^^'^'^^'^s^- 
guarded at a festival, the Romans were enabled to take pos- 
session of a strong position within the walls. A pestilence 
carried off most of the African army encamped in the valley 
of Anapus, with the general Himilco. Bomilcar, the Cartha- 
ginian admiral, retreated, rather than fight the Koman fleet. 
Marcellus obtained, by the treachery of a Sicilian captain, 
possession of the island of Ortygia, where Dionysius had once 
intrenched himself, the key to the port and the city, and 
Syracuse fell. The city was given up to plunder and mas- 
sacre, and Archimedes was one of the victims, peath of 
Marcellus honored the illustrious defender with ^^^^^"^edes. 
a stately funeral, and he was buried outside the gate of 
Acradina. One hundred and fifty years later, the Syracusans 
had forgotten even where he was buried, and his tomb was 
discovered by Cicero. 

While these events took place in Spain and Sicily, Hanni- 
bal bent his efforts to capture Tarentum, and the Romans 
were equally resolved to recover Capua. The fall of Taren- 
tum enabled Hannibal to break up the siege of Capua, and 
foiled in his attempts to bring on a decisive battle before that 
city, he advanced to Rome, and encamped within five miles 
of the city, after having led his troops with consummate skill 
between the armies and fortresses of the enemy. But Rome 
was well defended by two legions, under Fabius, who refused 
to fight a pitched battle. Hannibal was, therefore, com- 



368 The Second Punic War, . [Chap. xxv. 

pelled to retreat in order to save Capua, which, however, 
Fall of ^" ^^"^ absence, had surrendered to the Romans, after 

Capua. a two jcars' siege, and was savagely punished 

for its defection from the Roman cause. The fall of Capua 
gave a renewed confidence to the Roman government, which 
sent re-enforcements to Spain. But it imprudently reduced 
its other forces, so that Marcellus was left to face Hannibal 
with an inadequate army. The war was now carried on with 
alternate successes, in the course of which Tarentum again 
fell into Roman hands. Thirty thousand Tarentines were 
sold as slaves, b. o. 209. 

This great war had now lasted ten years, and both parties 
were sinking from exhaustion. In this posture of affairs the 
Romans were startled with the intellio^ence that Hasdrubal 
had crossed the Pyrenees, and was advancing to join his 
brother in Italy. The Romans, in this exigency, made pro- 
digious exertions. Twenty-three legions were enrolled ; but 
before pre2)arations were completed, Hasdrubal crossed the 
Alps, re-enforced by eight thousand Ligurian mercenaries. 
It was the aim of the two Carthaginian generals to form a 
juncture of their forces, and of the Romans to prevent it. 
Gaining intelligence of the intended movements of Hannibal 
and Hasdrubal by an intercepted dispatch, the Roman con- 
Battie of sul, Ncro, advanced to meet Hasdrubal, and en- 
etaurus. countered him on the banks of the Metaurus. 
Here a battle ensued, in which the Carthaginians were 
defeated and Hasdrubal • slain. Hannibal was waiting in 
suspense for the dispatch of his brother in his AjDulian camp, 
when the victor returned from his march of five hundred 
miles, and threw the head of Hasdrubal within his outposts. 
Reverses of On the sight of his brother's head, he exclaimed ; 
Hannibal. « j j.gcQgjjjjie the doom of Carthage." Abandon- 
ing Apulia and Lucania, he retired to the Bruttian peninsula, 
and the victor of Cannae retained only a few posts to en- 
able him to reembark for Africa. 

And yet this great general was able to keep the field four 
years longer, nor could the superiority of his opponents com- 



Chap. XXV.] Scijpio. 369 

pel him to shut himself up in a fortress or re-embark, a j^roof 
of his strategic talents. 

In the mean time a brilliant career was opened in Spain to 
the young Publius Scipio, known as the elder Africanus. He 
was only twenty-four when selected to lead the 
armies of Rome in Spain ; for it was necessary to 
subdue that country in order to foil the Carthaginians in 
Italy. Publius Scij)io was an enthusiast, who won the hearts 
of soldiers and women. He was kingly in his bearing, con- 
fident of his greatness, graceful in his manners, and eloquent 
in his speech — popular with all classes, and inspiring the 
enthusiasm which he felt. 

He landed in Spain with an army of thirty thousand, and 
at once marched to ISTew Carthage, before the distant armies 
of the Carthaginians could come to its relief. In a single 
day the schemes of Hamilcar and his sons were rrie ,„„„„„„„„ 
dissolved, and this great capital fell into the hands ^^ ^p-'^*"- 
of the youthful general, not yet eligible for a single curule 
magistracy. Ten thousand captives were taken and six 
hundred talents, with great stores of corn and munitions of 
war. Spain seemed to be an easy conquest ; but the follow- 
ing year the Carthaginians made a desperate effort, and sent 
to Spain a new army of seventy thousand infantry, four thou- 
sand horse, and thirty-two elephants. Yet this great force, 
united with that which remained under Hasdrubal and Mao^o, 
was signally defeated by Scipio. This grand victory, which 
made Scipio master of Spain, left him free to carry the war 
into Africa itself, assisted by his ally Masinissa. Gades 
alone remained to the Carthaginians, the original colony of 
the Phoenicians, and even this last tie was severed when 
Mago was recalled to assist Hannibal. 

Scipio, ambitious to finish the war, and seeking to employ 
the whole resources of the empire, returned to g^. iogg^. 
Italy and offered himself for the consulship, b. c. ^"^• 
205, and was unanimously chosen by the centuries, though 
not of legal age. His colleague was the chief pontiff P. 
Liciuius Crassus, whose office prevented him from leaving 
24 



370 The Second Punic War. [Chap xxv. 

Italy, and he was thus left unobstructed in the sole conduct 
of the war. Sicily was assigned to him as his province, 
where he was to build a fleet and make preparations for 
He invades p^ssing ovcr to Africa, although a party, headed 
Africa. i^y qI^ Fabius Maximus, wished him to remain in 

Italy to drive away Hannibal. The Senate withheld the 
usual power of the consul to make a new levy, but permitted 
Scipio to enroll volunteers throughout Italy. In the state of 
disorganization and demoralization which ever attend a long 
war, this enrollment was easily effected, and money was raised 
by contributions on disaffected States. 

Hannibal was still pent up among the Bruttii, unwilling 
to let go his last hold on Italy. Mago, in cisalpine Gaul, was 
Hannibal too far off to render aid. The defense of Africa 
Italy. depended on him alone, and he was recalled. He 

would probably have anticipated the ordei'. Rome breathed 
more freely when the " Libyan Lion " had de]3arted. For 
fifteen years he had been an incubus or a terror, and the 
Romans, in various conflicts, had lost three hundred thousand 
men. Two of the Scipios, Paulus Gracchus and Marcellus, 
had yielded up their lives in battle. Only Fabius, among 
the experienced generals at the beginning of the war, was 
alive, and he, at the age of ninety, was now crowned with a 
chaplet of the grass of Italy, as the most honorable reward 
which could be given him. 

Hannibal now sought a conference with Scipio, for both 
Hannibal parties wcrc anxious for peace, but was unable to 

Steele s for \ 

peace. obtain any better terms than the cession of Spain, 

as well* as the Mediterranean islands, the surrender of the 
Carthaginian fleet, the payment of four thousand talents, 
and the confirmation of Masinissa in the kingdom of Syphax. 
Such terms could not be accepted, and both parties prepared 
for one more decisive confiict. 

The battle was fought at Zama. " Hannibal arranged his 
The battle infantry in three lines. The first division contained 
of Zama. ^]^g Carthaginian mercenaries; the second, the 
African allies, and the militia of Carthage ; the third, the 



Chap. XXV.] Battle of Zama, 371 

veterans who followed him from Italy. In the front of the 
lines were stationed eighty elephants; the cavalry was 
placed on the wings. Scipio likewise disposed the legions 
in three divisions. The infantry fought hand to hand in the 
first division, and both jDarties falling into confusion, sought 
aid in the second division. The Romans were supported, 
but the Carthaginian militia was wavering. Upon seeing 
this, Hannibal hastily withdrew what remained of the two 
first lines to the flanks, and pushed forward his choice Italian 
troops along the whole line. Scipio gathered together in the 
centre all that were able to fight of the first line, and made 
the second and third divisions close up on the right and left 
of the first. Once again the conflict was renewed with more 
desperate fighting, till the cavalry of the Romans and of 
Masinissa, returning from pursuit of the beaten cavalry of 
the enemy, surrounded them on all sides. This movement 
annihilated the Punic army. All was lost, and Hannibal 
was only able to escape with a handful of men." 

It was now in the power of Scipio to march upon Carthage 
and lay siege to the city, neither protected nor Scipio gives 

. . -, -r> , , T - peace to Car- 

provisioned. i3ut he made no extravagant use of thage. 
his victory. He granted peace on the terms previously re- 
jected, with the addition of an annual tribute of two hundred 
talents for fifty years. He had no object to destroy a city 
after its political power was annihilated, and wickedly over- 
throw the primitive seat of commerce, which was still one 
of the main pillars of civilization. He was too great and 
wise a statesman to take such a revenge as the Romans 
sought fifty years afterward.- He was contented to end the 
war gloriously, and see Carthage, the old rival, a tributary 
and broken power, with no possibility of reviving its former 
schemes, b. c. 201. 

This ended the Hannibalic war, which had lasted seven- 
teen years, and which gave to Rome the undis- ^-^^^^ ^^ ^^^ 
puted sovereignty of Italy, the conversion of Spain '^^^• 
into two Roman provinces, the union of Syracuse with the 
Roman province of Sicily, the establishment of a Roman 



372 The Second Funic War. [Chap. xxv. 

protectorate over the Numidian chiefs, and the reduction of 
Carthage to a defenseless mercantile city. The hegemony 
of Rome was established over the western region of the 
Mediterranean. These results were great, but were obtained 
by the loss of one quarter of the burgesses of Rome, the ruin 
of four hundred towns, the waste of the accumulated capital 
of years, and the general demoralization of the people. It 
might seem that the Romans could have lived side by side 
with other nations in amity, as modern nations do. But, in 
ancient times, " it was necessary to be either anvil or ham- 
mer." Either Rome or Carthage was to become the great 
power of the world. 



CHAPTEE XXVI. 

THE MACEDONIAN AND ASIATIC WAES. 

ScAECELT "was Rome left to recover from the exhaustion 
of the long and desperate war with Hannibal, before she was 
involved in a new war with Macedonia, which led to very 
important consequences. 

The Greeks had retained the sovereignty which Alexander 
had won, and their civilization extended rapidly into the East. 
There were three great monarchies which arose, however, 
from the dismemberment of the empire which Alexander had 
founded — Macedonia, Asia, and Egypt — and each of them, 
in turn, was destined to become a province of Rome. 

Macedonia was then ruled by Philip Y., and was much 
such a monarchy as the first Philip had consoli- 
dated. The Macedonian rule embraced Greece and 
Thessaly, and strong garrisons were maintained at Demetrias 
in Magnesia, Chalcis in the island of Euboea, and in Corinth, 
"the three fetters of the Hellenes." But the strenocth of the 
kingdom lay in Macedonia. In Greece proper all moral and 
political energy had fled, and the degenerate, but still intel- 
lectual inhabitants spent their time in bacchanalian pleas- 
ures, in fencing, and in study of the midnight lamp. The 
Greeks, diffused over the East, disseminated their culture, 
but were only in sufficient numbers to supply officers, states- 
men, and schoolmasters. All the real warlike vigor remained 
among the nations of the North, where Philip 
reigned, a genuine king, proud of his purple, and 
proud of his accomplishments, lawless and ungodly, indiffer- 
ent to the lives and sufferings of others, stubborn and tyran- 
nical. He saw with regret the subjugation of Carthage, but 



374 Macedonian and Asiatic Wars. [Chap. xxvi. 

did not come to her relief when his aid might have turned 
the scale, ten years before. His eyes were turned to another 
quarter, to possess himself of pai't of the territories of Egypt, 
assisted by Antiochus of Asia. In this attempt he arrayed 
ao-ainst himself all the Greek mercantile cities whose interests 
were identified with Alexandria, now, on the fall of Carthage, 
the greatest commercial city of the world. He was opposed 
by Pergamus and the Rhodian league, while the Romans 
gave serious attention to their Eastern complications, not so 
much with a view of conquering the East, as to protect their 
newly-acquired possessions. A Macedonian war, then, be- 
came inevitable, but was entered into reluctantly, and was 
one of the most righteous, according to Mommsen, which 
Rome ever waged. 

The pretext for war — the casus belli- -was furnished by an 
Makes war attack on Athens bv the Macedonian sjeneral, to 
Eomans. avcugc the murder of two Arcananians for intrud- 
ing upon the Eleusinan Mysteries, b. c. 201. Athens was an 
ally of Rome. Two legions, undei* Publius Sulpicius Galba, 
embarked at Brundusium for Macedonia, with one thousand 
Numidian cavalry and a number of elephants. Nothing was 
accomplished this year of any historical importance. The 
next spring Galba led his troops into Macedonia, and en- 
countered the enemy, under Philip, on a marshy plain on 
the northwest frontier. But the Macedonians avoided bat- 
tle, and after repeated skirmishes and marches the Romans 
returned to Apollonia. Philip did not disturb the army in 
its retreat, but turned against the ^tolians, who had joined 
the league against him. At the end of the campaign the 
Romans stood as they were in the spring, but would have 
been routed had not the JEtolians interposed. The successes 
of Philip filled him with arrogance and self-confidence, and 
the following spring he assumed the offensive. The Romans, 
meantime, had been re-ehforced by new troops, under the 
command of Flaminius, who attacked Philip in his intrenched 
camp. The Macedonian king lost his camp and two thousand 
men, and retreated to the Pass of Tempe, the gate of Mace- 



Chap. XXVI.] Humiliation of Philip, 375 

donia proper, deserted by many of his allies. The Achgeans 
entered into alliance with Rome. The winter came on, and 
Philip sought terms of peace. All he could obtain from 
Flaminius was an armistice of two months. The Koman 
Senate refused all terms unless Philip would renounce all 
Greece, especially Corinth, Chalcis, and Demetrias. These 
were rejected, and Philip strained all his energies to meet 
his enemy in a pitched battle. He brought into the field 
twenty-six thousand men, an equal force to the Battle of Oy- 
Romans, and encountered them at Cynocephal^e. ii^cepbaife. 
The Romans were victorious, and a great number of prison- 
ers fell into their hands. Philip escaped to Larissa, burned 
his papers, evacuated Thessaly, and returned home. He was 
completely vanquished, and was obliged to accept such a 
peace as the Romans were disposed to grant. But the 
Romans did not abuse their power, but treated Philip with 
respect, and granted to him such terms as had been given to 
Carthage. He lost all his foreign possessions in Asia Minor, 
Thrace, Greece, and the islands of the ^gean, but retained 
Macedonia. He was also bound not to conclude foreign 
alliances without the consent of the Romans, nor send gar- 
risons abroad, nor maintain an ai'my of over five thousand 
men, nor possess a navy beyond five ships of war. He was 
also required to pay a contribution of one thousand talents. 
He was thus left in possession only of as much power as was 
necessary to guard the frontiers of Hellas against the bar- 
barians. All the States of Greece were declared free, and 
most of them were incorporated with the Achaean rj.^^ Achsean 
Leagjue, a confederation of the old cities, which i^^-'^gii^- 
were famous before the Dorian migration, to resist the Mace- 
donian domination. This famous league was the last strug- 
gle of Greece for federation to resist overpowering foes. As 
the Achaean cities were the dominant States of Greece at the 
Trojan war, so the expiring fires of Grecian liberty went out 
the last among that ancient race. 

The liberator of Greece, as Flaminius may be called, assem- 
bled the deputies of all the Greek communities at Corinth, ex- 



376 Macedonian and Asiatic Wars, [Chap. xxvi. 

horted them to use the freedom which he had conferred upon 
The liberties them with moderation, and requested, as the sole 
cured. rctum for the kindness which the Komans had 

shown, that they would send back all the Italian captives 
sold in Greece during the war with Hannibal, and then he 
evacuated the last fortresses which he held, and returned to 
Rome with his troops and liberated captives. Rome really 
desired the liberation and independence of Greece, now that 
all fears of her political jDOwer were removed, and that glorious 
liberty which is associated with the struggles of the Greeks 
with the Persians might have been secured, had not the 
Hellenic nations been completely demoralized. There was 
left among them no foundation and no material for liberty, 
and nothino^ but the masfic charm of the Hellenic 

Flaminius. ^ "^ . . 

name could have prevented Jblammius irom estab- 
lishing a Roman government in that degenerate land. It was 
an injudicious generosity which animated the Romans, but 
for which the war with Antiochus might not have arisen. 
Antiochus III., the great-great-grandson of the general 

of Alexander who founded the dynasty of the 

Antiochus. o i . . . . . 

Seleucidse, then reigned in Asia. On the fall of 
Philip, who was his ally, he took possession of those districts 
in Asia Minor that formerly belonged to Egypt, but had 
fallen to Philip. He also sought to recover the Greek cities 
of Asia Minor as a part of his empire. This enterprise em- 
broiled him with the Romans, who claimed a protectorate 
over all the Hellenic cities. And he was further complicated 
by the arrival at Ephesus, his capital, of Hannibal, to whom 
he gave an honorable reception. A rupture with Rome 
could not be avoided. 

To strengthen himself in Asia for the aj^proaching conflict, 
Antiochus married one of his daughters to Ptolemy, king of 
Egypt? another to the king of Cappadocia, a third to the king 
of Pergamus, while the Grecian cities were amused by pro- 
Power of mises and presents. He was also assured of the 

aid of the JEtolians, who intrigued against the 
Romans as soon as Flaminius had left. Then was seen the 



Chap. XXVT.] Scipio defeats Antiochus. 377 

error of that general for withdrawing garrisons from Greece, 
which was to be the theatre of the war. 

Antiochus collected an army and started for Greece, hoping 
to be joined by Philip, who, however, placed all jjjg prepara- 
his forces at the disposal of the Romans. The tions for war. 
Achaean Xeague also was firm to the Roman cause. The 
Roman armies sent against him, commanded by Manius 
Acilius Glabrio, numbered forty thousand men. Instead of 
retiring before this superior force, Antiochus intrenched 
himself in Thermopylae, but his army was dispersed, and he 
fled to Chalcis, and there embarked for Ephesus. The war 
was now to be carried to Asia. 

Both parties, during the winter, vigorously prepared for the 
next campaign, and the conqueror of Zama was gcipioin 
selected by Rome to conduct her armies in Asia. ^^^*- 
It was a long and weary march for the Roman armies to the 
Hellespont, which was crossed, however, without serious ob- 
stacles, from the mismanagement of Antiochus, who offered 
terms of peace when the army had safely landed in Asia. 
He offered to pay half the expenses of the war and the ces- 
sion of his European possessions, as well as of the Greek 
cities of Asia Minor that had gone over to the Romans. But 
Scipio demanded the whole cost of the war and the cession 
of Asia Minor. These terms were rejected, and the Syrian 
king hastened to decide the fate of Asia by a pitched battle. 

This fight was fought at Magnesia, b. c. 190, not far from 
Smyrna, in the valley of the Hermus. The forces p^feat of 
of Antiochus were eighty thousand, including Antiochus. 
twelve thousand cavalry, but were undisciplined and 
unwieldy. Those of Scipio were about half as numerous. 
The Romans were completely successful, losing only twenty- 
four horsemen and three hundred infantry, whereas the loss 
of Antiochus was fifty thousand — a victory as brilliant as 
that of Alexander at Issus. Asia Minor was surrendered to 
the Romans, and Antiochus was compelled to pay three 
thousand talents (little more than three million dollars) at 
once, and the same contribution for twelve years, so that 



378 Macedonian and Asiatic Wars. [Chap. xxvi. 

he retained nothing but Cilicia. His power was broken 
utterly, and he was prohibited from making aggressive war 
ao;ainst the States of the West, or from navio^atins; the sea 
west of the mouth of the Calycadnus, in Cilicia, with armed 
Syria a ships, or from tamino; elephants, or even receivinoj 

province. political lugitivcs. i he proviiice 01 feyria never 
again -made a second appeal to the decision of arras — a proof 
of the feeble organization of the kingdom of the Seleucidse. 

The king of Cappadocia escaped with a fine of six hundred 
Subjection taleiits. All the Greek cities which had joined the 

of the Greek 

cities. Romans had their liberties confirmed. The ^to- 

lians lost all cities and territories which were in the hands 
of their adversaries. But Philip and the Achseans were dis- 
gusted with the small share of the sjDoil granted to them. 

Thus the protectorate of Rome now embraced all the States 
from the eastern to the western end of the Mediterranean. 
And Rome, about this time, was delivered of the last enemy 
whom she feared — the homeless and fugitive Carthaginian, 
who lived loqg enough to see the West subdued, as well as 
Deatii of the armies of the East overpowered. At the age 
anni ai. ^^ sevciity-six he took poison, on seeing his house 
beset with assassins. For fifty years he kept the oath he 
had sworn as a boy. About the same time that he killed 
himself in Bithynia, Scipio, on whom fortune had lavished 
all her honors and successes — ^who had added Spain, Africa, 
and Asia to the empire, died in voluntary banishment, little 
over fifty years of age, leaving orders not to bury his remains 
in the city for which he had lived, and where his ancestors 
reposed. He died in bitter vexation from the false charges 
made against him of . corruption and embezzlement, with 
hardly any other fault than that overweening arrogance 
which usually attends unprecedented success, and which 
corrodes the heart when the eclat of prosperity is dimmed 
by time. The career and death of both these great men — 
the greatest of their age — shows impressively the vanity of 
all worldly greatness, and is an additional confirmation of 
the fact that the latter years of illustrious men are generally 



CsAp. XX VT.] Henewed War with Macedouia. 379 

sad and gloomy, and certain to be so when tlieir lives are 
not animated by a greater sentiment than that of ambition. 

Philip of Macedon died, b. c. 179, in the fifty-ninth year 
of his age and the forty-second of his reign, and 
his son Perseus succeeded to his throne at the age 
of thirty-one. Macedonia had been humbled rather than 
weakened by the Romans, and after eighteen years of peace, 
had renewed her resources. This kingdom chafed against 
the foreign power of Rome, as did the whole Hellenic world. 
A profound sentiment of discontent existed in both Asia and 
Europe. Perseus made alliances with the discontented cities 
— with the Byzantines, the -^tolians, and the Boeotians. 
But so prudently did he conduct his intrigues, that it was 
not till the seventh year of his reign that Rome declared war 
asfainst him. 

The resources of Macedonia were still considerable. The 
army consisted of thirty thousand men, without considering 
mercenaries or contingents, and great quantities of military 
stores had been collected in the magazines. And Perseus 
himself was a monarch of great ability, trained and disci- 
plined to war. He collected an army of forty-three thou- 
sand men, while the whole Roman force in Greece -^^^^^^^ ^^r 
was scarcely more. Crassus conducted the Roman ^^ Kome. 
army, and in the first engagement at Ossa, was decidedly 
beaten. Perseus then sought peace, but the Romans never 
made peace after a defeat. The war continued, but the mili- 
tary result of two campaigns was null, while the political 
result w^as a disgrace to the Romans. The third campaign, 
conducted by Quintus Marcius Philippus, was equally unde- 
cisive, and had Perseus been willing to part with his money, 
he could have obtained the aid of twenty thousand Celts who 
would have given much trouble. At last, in the fourth year 
of the war, the Romans sent to Macedonia Lucius JEmilius 
Paulus, son of the consul that fell at Cannae — an excellent 
general and incorruptible ; a man sixty years of age, culti- 
vated in Hellenic literature and art. Soon after his arrival 
at the camp at Heracleum, he brought about the battle of 



380 Macedonian and Asiatic Wars. [Chap. xxvi. 

Pydna, which settled the fate of Macedonia. The over- 
Battie of throw of the Macedonians was fearful. Twenty 
Pydna. thousand were killed and eleven thousand made 
prisoners. All Macedonia submitted in two days, and the 
king fled with his gold, some six thousand talents he had 
hoarded, to Samothrace, accompanied with only a few fol- 
lowers. The Persian* monarch might have presented a more 
effectual resistance to Alexander had he scattered his treas- 
ures among the mercenary Greeks. So Perseus could have 
prolonged his contest had he employed the Celts. When a 
man is struggling desperately for his life or his crown, his 
treasures are of secondary importance. Perseus was soon 
after taken prisoner by the Romans, with all his treasures, 
and died a few years later at Alba. 

" Thus perished the empire of Alexander, which had sub- 
its decisive ^^^^ ^iicl Hellenized the East, one hundred and 
results. forty-four years from his death." The kingdom 

of Macedonia was stricken out of the list of States, and the 
whole land was disarmed, and the fortress of Demetrias was 
razed. Illyria was treated in a similar way, and became a 
Roman province. All the Hellenic States were reduced to 
dependence upon Rome. Pergamus was humiliated. Rhodes 
was deprived of all possessions on the main land, although 
the Rhodians had not offended. Egypt voluntarily sub- 
mitted to the Roman protectorate, and the whole empire of 
Alexander the Great fell to the Roman commonwealth. 
The universal empire of the Romans dates from the battle of 
Pydna — " the last battle in which a civilized State confronted 
Rome in the field on the footing of equality as a great 
power." All subsequent struggles were with barbarians. 
Mithridates, of Pontus, made subsequently a desperate 
effort to rid the Oriental world of the dominion of Rome, but 
the battle of Pydna marks the real supremacy of the Romans 
Supremacy in the civilized world. Mommsen asserts that 

of the 

Bomans in it is a Superficial view which sees in the wars 

the civilized n •, r-\ • ••> •• ti- 

world. 01 the Romans with tribes, cities, and kings, an 

insatiable longing after dominion and riches, and that it was 



Chap, xxvi] Consequences of the Battle of Pydna. 881 

only a desire to secure the complete sovereignty of Italy, 
unmolested by enemies, which prompted, to this period, the 
Roman wars — that the Romans earnestly opjDOsed the intro- 
duction of Africa, Greece, and Asia into the pale of protector- 
ship, till circumstances compelled the extension of that pale 
— that, in fact, they Avere driven to all their great wars, 
with the exception of that concerning Sicily, even those with 
Hannibal and Antiochus, either by direct aggression or dis- 
turbance of settled political relations. " The policy of Rome 
was that of a narrow-minded but very able deliberate assem- 
bly, which had far too little power of grand combination, and 
far too much instii^ctive desire for the preservation of its 
own commonwealth, to devise projects in the spirit of a 
Csesar or a Napoleon." Nor did the ancient world know of 
a balance of power among nations, and hence every nation 
strove to subdue its neighbors, or render them powerless, 
like the Grecian States. Had the Greeks combined for a 
great political unity, they might have defied even the Roman 
power, or had they been willing to see the growth of equal 
States without envy, like the modern nations of Europe, with- 
out destructive conflicts, the States of Sparta, Corinth, and 
Athens might have grown simultaneously, and united, would 
have been too powerful to be subdued. But they did not 
understand the balance of power, and they were inflamed 
with rival animosities, and thus destroyed each other. 



CHAPTEE XXVII. 

THE THIED PUNIC WAE. 

The peace between Carthage and Rome, after the second 
Punic war, lasted fifty years, during which the Carthagini- 
ans gave the Romans no cause of complaint. Carthage, in 
the enjoyment of peace, devoted itself to commerce and 
industrial arts, and grew very rich and populous. The gov- 
ernment alone was weak, from the anarchical ascendency of 
the people, who were lawless and extravagant. 

Their renewed miseries can he traced to Masinissa, who 
Causes of was in close alliance with the Romans. The Car- 

the third , . . 

Punic war. thagmians endured everything rather than pro- 
voke the hostility of Rome, which watched the first opportu- 
nity to efiect their ruin. Having resigned themselves to 
political degradation, general cowardice and demoralization 
were the result. 

Masinissa, king of Numidia, made insolent claims on 
those Phoenician settlements on the coast of Byza- 

Tw^o ci T|i ceo 

cena, which the Carthaginians possessed from the 
earliest times. Scipio was sent to Carthage, to arrange the 
difficulty, as arbitrator, and the circumstances were so 
aggravated that he could not, with any justice, decide in 
favor of the king, but declined to j)i'onounce a verdict, so 
that Masinissa and Carthage should remain on terms of 
hostility. And as Masinissa reigned for fifty years after 
the peace, Carthage was subjected to continual vexations. 
At last a war broke out between them. Masinissa was 
stronger than Carthage, but the city raised a considerable 
army, and placed it under the conduct of Hasdrubal, who 
marched against the perfidious enemy with fifty thousand 



Chap, xxvii] Misery of Carthage, 883 

mercenaries. The battle was not decisive, but Hasdrubal 
retreated without securing his communication with Carthage. 
His army was cut off, and he sought terms of peace, Usurpatioa 

-., , ,., . -, ^, ofMasi- 

which were haughtily rejectea, and he then gave nissa. 
hostages for keeping the peace, and agreed to pay five thou- 
sand talents within fifty years, and acknowledge Masinissa's 
usurpation. The Romans, instead of settling the difficulties, 
instigated secretly Masinissa. And the Roman commis- 
sioners sent to the Senate exaggerated accounts of the 
resources of Carthage. The Romans compelled the Cartha- 
ginians to destroy their timber and the materials they had 
in abundance for building a new fleet. Still the Senate, 
having the control of the foreign relations, and having 
become a mere assembly of kings, with the great power 
which the government of provinces gave to it, was filled with 
renewed jealousy. Cato never made a speech without clos- 
ing with these words : " Carthago est delenda.'''' A blind 
hatred animated that vindictive and narrow old patrician, 
who headed a party with the avowed object of the destruc- 
tion of Carthage. And it was finally determined to destroy 
the city. 

The Romans took the Carthaginians to account for the 
war with Masinissa, and not contented with the Carthage 
humiliation of their old rival, aimed at her abso- count. 
lute ruin, though she had broken no treaties. The Cartha- 
ginians, broken-hearted, sent emjbassy after embassy, implor- 
ing the Senate to preserve peace, to whom the senators gave 
equivocal answers. The situation of Carthage was hopeless 
and miserable — stripped by Masinissa of the rich towns of 
Emporia, and on the eve of another conflict with the mistress 
of the world. 

Had the city been animated by the spirit which Hannibal 
had sought to infuse, she was still capable of a po^erof 
noble defense. She ruled over three hundred Cafti^age. 
Libyan cities, and had a population of seven hundred thou- 
sand. She had accumulated two hundred thousand stand 
of arms, and two thousand catapults. And she had the 



384 The Third Punic War. [Chap. xxvn. 

means to manufacture a still greater amount. But she had, 
unfortunately, on the first demand of the Romans, surren- 
dered these means of defense. 

At last Rome declared war, b. c. 149 — the wickedest war 
,xr in which she ever eno-as-ed — and Cato had the 

war »^ o 

declared. satisfaction of Seeing, at the age of eighty-five, his 
policy indorsed against every principle of justice and honor. 
A Roman army landed in Africa unopposed, and the Car- 
thaginians were weak enough to surrender, not only three 
hundred hostages from the noblest families, but the arms 
already enumerated. l!^othing but infatuation can account 
for this miserable concession of weakness to strength, all 
from a blind coufidence in the tender mercies of an unpitying 
and unscrupulous foe. Then, when the city was defenseless, 
the hostages in the hands of the Romans, and they almost 
at the gates, it was coolly announced that it was the will of 
the Senate that the city should be destroyed. 

Too late, the doomed city prepared to make a last stand 
against an inexorable enemy. The most violent feelings of 
hatred and rage, added to those of despair, at last animated 
the people of Carthage. It was the same passion which 
arrayed Tyre against Alexander, and Jerusalem against 
Titus. It was a wild patriotic frenzy which knew no bounds, 
Despair of inspired by the instinct of self-preservation, and 
ginians. asidc from all calculation of success or failure. As 
the fall of the city was inevitable, wisdom might have coun- 
seled an unreserved submission. Resistance should have 
been thought of before. In fact, Carthage should not have 
yielded to the first Africanus. And when she had again 
become rich and populous, she should have defied the Ro- 
mans when their spirit was perceived — should have made a 
more gallant defense against Masinissa, and concentrated 
all her energies for a last stand upon her own territories. 
But why should we thus S23eculate ? The doom of Carthage 
had been pronounced by the decrees of fate. The fall has all 
the mystery and solemnity of a providential event, like the 
fall of all empires, like the defeat of Darius by Alexander, 



Chap. XXVIL] The Defenses of Carthage, ' 385 

like the ruin of Jeinisalem, like the melting away of North 
American Indians, like the final overthrow of the^ " Eternal 
City "itself. 

The desperation of the city in her last conflict proves, 
however, that, with proper foresight and patriot- rpj^p p.^. 
ism, her fall might liave been delayed, for it took Jjelnerate 
the Romans three years to subdue her. The dis- ^^^I'^s- 
armed city withstood the attack of the Romans for a period 
five times as long as it required Vespasian and Titus to cap- 
ture Jerusalem. The city resounded day and night with the 
labors of men and women on arins and catapults. One hun- 
dred and forty shields, three hundred swords, five hundred 
spears, and one thousand missiles were manufactured daily, 
and even a fleet of one hundred and fifty ships was built 
during the siege. The land side of the city was protected 
by a triple wall, and the rocks of Cape Camast and Cape 
Carthage sheltered it from all attacks by sea, except one 
side protected by fortified harbors and quays. 

TT T 1 T • 1 1 r' 1 • -n Hasdrubal. 

Hasdrubal, with the remnant oi his army, was still 

in the field, and took up his station at Nephesis, on the 

opposite side of the lake of Tunis, to harass the besiegers. 

Masinissa died at the age of ninety, soon after hostilities 

began. 

The first attack on Carthage was a failure, and the army of 
the Consuls Censorinus and ManiusManilius would yva\\\v 
have been cut to pieces, had it not been for the tuervomana. 
reserve led by Scipio ^milianus, a grandson of Africanus, 
who was then serving as military tribune. He also per- 
formed many gallant actions when Censodnus retired to 
Rome, leaving the army in the hands of his incompetent 
colleague. 

The second campaign was equally unsuccessful, under L. 
Calpurnius Piso and L. Mancinus. The slow pro- ^ ^.„ 
gress of the war excited astonishment throughout gristed. 
the world. The suspense of the campaign was intolerable 
to the proud spirit of the Romans, who had never dreamed 
of such resistance. The eyes of the Romans were then turned 
25 



386 ' :^/i6 Third Punic War. [Chap, xxvil 

to the young hero who alone had thus far distinguished 
himself. Although he had not reached the proper age, he 
was chosen consul, and the province of Africa was assigned 
to him. He sailed with his friends Polybius and Lselius. 
He was by no means equal tcf the elder Scipio, although he 
was an able general and an accomplished man. He was 
ostentatious, envious, and proud, and had cultivation rather 
than genius. 

When he arrived at Utica, he found the campaign of b. c. 
Mistake of ^^"^ Opened in such a way that his arrival saved 
Mancinus, ^ great disaster. The admiral Mancinus had at- 
tempted an attack on an undefended quarter, but a desperate 
sally of the besieged had exposed him to imminent danger, 
and he was only relieved by the timely arrival of Scipio. 

The new general then continued the siege with new vigor. 
sie^eof Car- ^^^ headquarters were fixed on an isthmus uniting 
thage. ^jjg peninsula of Carthage with the main-land, 

from which he attacked the suburb called Megara, and took 
it, and shut up the Carthaginians in the old town and ports. 
The garrison of the suburb and the army of Hasdrubal re- 
treated within the fortifications of the city. The Cartha- 
ginian leader, to cut ofiT all retreat, inflicted inhuman bar- 
barities and tortures on all the Roman prisoners they took. 
Scipio, meanwhile, intrenched and fortified in the suburb, 
cut off all communication between the city and main-land 
by parallel trenches, three miles in length, drawn across the 
whole isthmus. The communication with the sea being still 
open, from which the besieged received supplies, the port was 
blocked up by a mole of stone ninety-six feet wide. The 
besieged worked night and day, and cut a new channel to 
the sea, and, had they known how to improve their oppor- 
tunity, might, with the new fleet they had constructed, 
have destroyed that of their enemies, unprepared for action. 

Scipio now resolved to make himself master of the ports, 
Scipio master which wcre Separated from the sea by quays and 
of the ports. ^ weak wall. His battering-rams were at once 
destroyed by the Carthaginians. He then built a wall or 



Chap. XXVII. ] Fall of Carthage. 38T 

rampart upon the quay, to the height of the city wall, and 
placed upon it four thousand men to harass the besieged. 
As the winter rains then set in, making his camp unhealthy, 
and the city was now closely invested by sea and land, he 
turned his attention to the fortified camp of the enemy at 
Nephesis, which was taken by storm, and seventy thousand 
persons put to the sword. The Carthaginian army was an- 
nihilated. 

Meanwhile famine pressed within the besieged city, and 
Hasdrubal would not surrender. An attack, led Attack of the 
by Lselius, on the market-place, gave the Romans citadel. 
a foothold within the city, and a great quantity of spoil. 
One thousand talents were taken from the temple of Apollo. 
Preparations were then made for the attack of the citadel, 
and for six days there was a hand-to-hand fight between the 
combatants amid the narrow streets which led to the Byrsa. 
The tall Oriental houses were only taken one by one and 
burned, and the streets were cumbered with the dead. The 
miserable people, crowded within the citadel, certain now of 
destruction, then sent a deputation to Scipio to beg the lives 
of those who had sought a retreat in the Byrsa. The request 
was granted to all but Roman deserters. But out of the 
great population of seven hundred thousand, only thirty 
thousand men and twenty-five thousand women marched 
from the burning ruins. Hasdrubal and the three hundred 
Roman deserters, certain of no mercy, retired to the temple! 
of ^sculapiu'i, the heart of the citadel. But the Carthaginian, 
uniting pusillanimity with cruelty, no sooner found Capture and' 
the temple on fire, than he rushed out in Scipio's of Carthage. 
presence, with an olive-branch in his hands, and abjectly 
begged for his life, which Scipio granted, after he had pros- 
trated himself at his feet in sight of his followers, who loaded 
him with the bitterest execrations. The wife of Hasdrubal, 
deserted by the abject wretch, called down the curses of the 
gods on the man who had betrayed his country and deserted 
at last his family. She then cut the throats of her children 
and threw them into the flames, and then leaped into them 



388 The Third Punic War, [Chap. XXVIL 

herself. The Roman deserters in the same manner perished. 
The city was given up to plunder, the inhabitants whose 
lives were spared were sold as slaves, and the- gold and 
works of art were carried to Rome and deposited in the 
temples. 

Such was the fate of Carthage — a doom so awful, that we 
„ ,. , can not but feel that it was sent as a chastisement 

Her awlul 

fate. for crimes which had long cried to Heaven for 

vengeance. Carthage always was supremely a wicked city. 
All the luxurious and wealthy capitals of ancient times were 
wicked, especially Oriental cities, as Carthage properly, 
though not technically, was — founded by Phoenicians, and a 
worshiper of the gods of Tyre and Sidon. The Roman Sen- 
ate decreed that not only the city, but even the villas of the 
nobles in the suburb of Megara, should be leveled with the 
Carthage s^round, and the plowshare driven over the soil 

utterly de- ^ ' i n i • t i 

stroyed. dcvotcd to pcrpctual desolation, and a curse to the 
man who should dare to cultivate it or build upon it. For 
fourteen days, the fires raged in this once populous and 
wealthy city, and the destruction was complete, b. c. 146. 
So deep-seated was the Roman hatred of rivals, or States that 
had been rivals ; so dreadful was the punishment of a wicked 
city, of which Scipio was made the instrument, not merely 
of the Romans, but of Divine providence. 

All the great cities of antiquity, which had been seats of 
luxury and pride, had now been utterly destroyed — Nineveh, 
The fate of Babylon, Tyre, and Carthage. Corinth was already 
mCTciarca'p- sackcd by Mummius, and Jerusalem was to be 
itais. i^y. 'pi^^g^^ and Rome herself was finally to receive 

a still direr chastisement at the hands of Goths and Van- 
dals. So Providence moves on in his mysterious power 
to bring to naught the grandeur and power of i-ebellious 
nations — rebellious to those mighty moral laws which are as 
inexorable as the laws of nature. 

The territory on the coast of Zeugitania and Byzantium, 
which formed the last possession of Carthage, was erected 
into the province of Africa, and the rich plain of that fertile 



Chap. XXVII.] Change in Roman Manners, ^ 389 

province became more important to Rome for supplies of corn 
than even Sicily, which had been the granary of Rome. 

Scipio returned to Rome, and enjoyed a triumph more gor- 
geous than the great Africanus. He also lived to scipiotri- 
enjoy another triumph for brilliant successes in '^'"i^^^- 
Spain, yet to be enumerated, but was also doomed to lose his 
popularity, and to perish by the dagger of assassins. 

Rome had now acquired the undisputed dominion of the 
civilized world, and with it, the vices of the nations she sub- 
dued. A great decline in Roman morals succeeded these 
brilliant conquests. Great internal changes took place. The 
old distinction of patricians and plebeians had van- Change in 
ished, and a new nobility had arisen, composed of manners. 
rich men and of those whose ancestors had enjoyed curule 
magistracies. They possessed the Senate, and had control of 
the Comitia Centuriata, by the prerogative vote of the eques- 
trian centuries. A base rabble had grown up, fed with corn 
and oil, by the government, and amused by games and spec- 
tacles. The old republican aristocracy was supplanted by a 
family oligarchy. The vast wealth which poured into Rome 
from the conquered countries created disproportionate for- 
tunes. The votes of the people were bought by the rich can- 
didates for popular favor. The superstitions of the East 
were transferred to. the capital of the world, and the decay 
in faith was as marked as the decay in virtue. Chaldsean 
astrologers were scattered over Italy, and the gods of all the 
conquered peoples of the earth were worshiped at Rome. 
The bonds of society were loosed, and a state was prepared 
for the civil wars which proved even more destructive than 
the foreign. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

ROMAN CONQTJESTS FEOM THE FALL OF CAETHAGE TO THE 
TIMES OF THE GKACCHI. 

Although the Roman domination now extended in some 
form or other over most of the countries around the Medi- 
terranean, still several States remained to be subdued, in the 
East and in the West. 

The subjugation of Spain first deserves attention, com- 
menced before the close of the third Punic war, and which I 
have omitted to notice for the sake of clearness of connection. 

After the Hannibalic war, we have seen how Rome planted 
her armies in Spain, and added two provinces to her empire. 
But the various tribes were far from being subdued, and 
Spain was inhabited by different races. 

This great peninsula, bounded on the north by the ocean 
Cantabricus, now called the Bay of Biscay, and the Pyrenees, 
on the east and south by the Mediterranean, and on the west 
The Spanish ^J the Atlantic Ocean, was called Iberia, by the 
peninsula, Qrceks, from the river Iberus, or Ebro. The term 
Hispania was derived from the Phoenicians, who planted 
colonies on the southern shores. The Carthaginians invaded 
it next, and founded several cities, the chief of which was 
New Cartliao^e. At the end of the second Punic war, it was 
wrested from them by the Romans, who divided it into two 
provinces, Citerior and Ulterior. In the time of Augustus, 
Ulterior Spain was divided into two provinces, called Lusi- 
tania and Bgetica, while the Citerior province, by far the 
larger, occupying the whole northern country from the 
Atlantic to the Mediterranean, was called Tarragona. It 
included three-fifths of the peninsula, or about one hun- 



Chap, xxvm.] Spanish States and Cities. 391 

dred and seven thousand three hundred square miles. It 
embraced the modern provinces of Catalonia, Aragon, Na- 
varre, Biscay, Asturias, Galicia, Northern Leon, old and 
new Castile, Murcia, and Valentia, and a part of Por- 
tugal. Btetica nearly corresponded with Andalusia, and 
embraced Granada, Jaen, Cordova, Seville, and half of 
Spanish Estremadura. Lusitania corresponds nearly with 
Portugal. 

The Tarraconensis was inhabited by numerous tribes, and 
the chief ancient cities were Barcelona, Tarragona Geo<^raphy 
the metropolis, Pampeluna, Oporto, Numantia, Sa- ^*" ^P'^*"- 
guntum, Saragossa, and Cartagena. In Baetica were Cor- 
doA^a, Castile, Gades, and Seville. In Lusitania were Olisipo 
(Lisbon), and Salamanca. 

Among the inhabitants of these various provinces were 
Iberians, Celts, Phoenicians, and Hellenes. In the year 154 
B. c, the Lusitanians, under a chieftain called Punicus, in- 
vaded the Roman territory which the elder Scipio had 
conquered, and defeated two Roman governors. The Ro- 
mans then sent a consular army, under Q. Fulvius Nobilior, 
which was ultimately defeated by the Lusitanians under 
Csesarus. This success kindled the flames of war far and 
near, and the Celtiberians joined in the warfare against the 
Roman invaders. Again the Romans were defeated with 
heavy loss. The Senate then sent considerable re- War with 
enforcements, under Claudius Marcellus, Avho soon lards. 
changed the aspect of affairs. The nation of the ArevacsB 
suri'endered to the Romans — a people living on the branches 
of the Durius, near Numantia — and their western neighbors, 
the Yaccsei, were also subdued, and barbarously dealt with. 
On the outbreak of the third Punic war the affairs of Spain 
were left to the ordinary governors, and a new insurrection 
of the Lusitanians took place. Viriathus, a Spanish chief- 
tain, signally defeated the Romans, and was recognized as 
king of all the Lusitanians. He was distinguished, not only 
for bravery, but for temperance and art, and was a sort of 
Homeric hero, whose name and exploits were sounded 



392 Roman Conqicests, [Chap, xxviil 

throughout the peninsula. He gained great victories over 
the Roman generals, and destroyed their armies. General 
after general was successively defeated. For five years this 
gallant Spaniard kept the whole Roman power at bay, and 
he was only destroyed by treachery. 

While the Lusitanians at the South were thus prevailing 
over the Roman armies on the banks of the Tagus, another 
war broke out in the North among the Celtiberian natives. 
Against these people Quintus Csecilius Metellus, the consul, 
was sent. He showed great ability, and in two years re- 
duced the whole northern province, except the two cities of 
Termantia and Numantia. These cities, wearied at last with 
war, agreed to submit to the Romans, and delivered up 
Inglorious hostages and descrtcrs, with a sum of money. But 
^^''' the Senate, with its usual policy, refused to confirm 

the treaty of its general, which perfectly aroused the Nu- 
mantines to resentment and despair. These brave people 
obtained successes against the Roman general L^enas and his 
successors, Mancinus and M. j:Emilius Lepidus, as well as 
Philus and Piso. 

The Romans, aroused at last to this inglorious war, which 

had lasted nearly ten years, resolved to take the city of the 

Numantines at any cost, and intrusted the work to 

ScipiO. c^ • ' • • • 

Scipio ^niilianus, their best general. He spent 
the summer (b. c. 134) in extensive preparations, and it was 
not till winter that he drew his army round the walls 
of ISTumantia, defended by only eight thousand citizens. 
Scipio even declined a battle, and fought with mattock and 
spade. A double wall of circumvallation, surmounted with 
towers, was built around the city, and closed the access to 
it by the Douro, by which the besieged relied upon for pro- 
visions. The city sustained a memorable siege of nearly a 
year, and was only reduced by famine. The inhabitants 
were sold as slaves, and the city was leveled with the 
ground. The f dl of this fortress struck ^t the root of oppo- 
sition to Rome, and a senatorial commission was sent to 
Spain, in order to organize with Scipio the newly-won terri- 



Chap. xxviiL] Africa. 393 

tories, which became henceforth the best-regulated country of 
all the provinces of Rome. 

But a graver difficulty existed with the African, Greek, 
and Asiatic States that had been brought under Difficulties 
the influence of the Roman hegemony, which was provinces. 
neither formal sovereignty nor actual subjection. The client 
States had neither independence nor peace. The Senate, 
nevertheless, perpetually interfered with the course of Afri- 
can, Hellenic, Asiatic, and Egyptian affairs. Commissioners 
were constantly going to Alexandria, to the Achaean diet, 
and to the courts of the Asiatic princes, and the government 
of Rome deprived the nations of the blessings of freedom and 
the blessings of order. 

It was time to put a stop to this state of things, and the 
only way to do so was to convert the client States Province of 
into Roman provinces. After the destruction of ^"<'^- 
Carthage, the children of Masinissa retained in substance 
their former territories, but were not allowed to make Car- 
thage their capital. Her territories became a Roman prov- 
ince, whose capital was Utica. 

Macedonia also disappeared, like Carthage, from the ranks 
of nations. But the four small States into which the king- 
dom was parceled could not live in peace, ^'either Roman 
commissioners nor foreign arbiters could restore order. At 
this crisis a young man appeared in Thrace, who called him- 
self the son of Perseus. This pseudo-Philip, for such was his 
name, strikingly resembled the son of Perseus. Unable to 
obtain recognition in his native country, he went to Deme- 
trius Soter, king of Syria. By him he was sent to Rome. 
The Senate attached so little importance to the man, that he 
was left, imperfectly guarded, in an Italian town, and fled to 
Miletus. Again arrested, and again contriving to escape, he 
went to Thrace, and obtained a recognition from Tereus, the 
chief of the Thracian barbarians. With his sup- The Mace- 
port he invaded Macedonia, and obtained several ^^°^^° ^*^- 
successes over the Macedonian militia. The Roman com- 
missioner ISTasica, without troops, was obliged to call to bis 



394 Roman Conquests, [Chap, xxviii. 

aid the Achaean and Pergamene soldiers, until defended by a 
Roman legion under the prsetor Juventius. Juventius was 
slain by the pretender, and his army cut to pieces. And it 
was not until a stronger Roman army, under Quintus Cseci- 
lius Metellus, appeared, that he was subdued. The four 
States into which Macedonia had been divided were now 
converted into a Roman province, b. c. 148, and Macedonia 
became, not a united kingdom, but a united province, with 
nearly the former limits. 

The defense of the Hellenic civilization now devolved on 
the Romans, but was not conducted with adequate forces or 
befitting energy, and the petty States were therefore exposed 
to social disorganization, and the Greeks evidently sought to 
pick a quarrel with Rome. 

Hence the Achaean war, b. c. 149. It is not of much his- 
Faiiof torical importance. It was commenced under Me- 

^"^^ • tellus, and continued under Mummius, who reduced 
the noisy belligerents to terms, and entered Corinth, the seat 
of rebellion, and the first commercial city of Greece. By 
order of the Senate, the Corinthian citizens were sold into 
slavery, the fortifications of the city leveled with the ground, 
and the city itself was sacked. The mock sovereignty of 
leagues was abolished, and all remains of Grecian liberty 
fled. 

In Asia Minor, after the Seleucidse were driven away, Per- 
gamus became the first power. But even this 
State did not escape the jealousy of the Romans, 
and with Attalus III. the house of Attalids became extinct. 

He, however, had bequeathed his kingdom to the Romans, 
and his testament kindled a civil war. Aristonicus, a natural 
son of Eumenes II., made his appearance at Leuca, a small 
sea-port near Smyrna, as a pretender to the crown. He was 
defeated by the Ephesians, who saw the necessity of the pro- 
tection and friendship of the Roman government. But he 
again appeared with new troops, and the struggle was serious, 
since there were no Roman troops in Asia. But, b. c. 131, 
a Roman army was sent under the consul Publius Licinius 



Chap xxvin.] Syria, 395 

Crassus Mucianus, one of the wealthiest men of Rome, dis- 
tinguished as an orator and jurist. This distinguished gen- 
eral was about to lay siege to Leuca, when he was 
surprised and taken captive, and put to death. His 
successor, Marcus Perpenna, was fortunate in his warfare, 
and the pretender was taken prisoner, and executed at Rome. 
The remaining cities yielded to the conqueror, and Asia Minor 
became a Roman province. 

In other States the Romans set up kings as they chose. 
In Syria, Antiochus Eupater was recognized over 
the claims of Demetrius Soter, then a hostage in ^" ' 
Rome. But he contrived to escape, and seized the govern- 
ment of his ancestral kingdom. But it would seem that the 
Romans, at this period, did not take a very lively interest in 
the affairs of remote Asiatic States, and the decrees of the 
Senate were often disregarded with impunity. A great re- 
action of the East took place against the West, and, under 
Mithridates, a renewed struggle again gave dignity to the 
Eastern kingdoms, which had not raised their heads since 
the conquests of Alexander. That memorable struggle will 
be alluded to in the proper place. It was a difficult problem 
which Rome undertook when she undertook to govern the 
Asiatic world. It was easy to conquer ; it was difficult to 
rule, when degeneracy and luxury became the vices of the 
Romans themselves. We are now to trace those domestic 
dissensions and civil wars which indicate the decline of the 
Roman republic. But before we describe those wars, we 
will take a brief survey of the social and political changes in 
Rome at this period. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

ROMAN CIVILIZATION AT THE CLOSE OF THE THIKD PUIHC 
WAR, AND THE FALL OF GREECE. 

Rome Vas now the unrivaled mistress of the worid. She 
Domiiiionof ^^^ conquered all the civilized States around the 
Rome. Mediterranean, or had established a protectorate 

over them. She had no fears of foreign enemies. Her em- 
pire was established. 

Before we proceed to present subsequent conquests or 
domestic revolutions, it would be well to glance at the 
political and social structure of the State, as it was two hun- 
dred years before the Christian era, and also at the progress 
which had been made in literature and art. 

One of the most noticeable features of the Roman State 
The rise of a ^* *^^^ period was the rise of a new nobility. The 
new nobility, patricians, when they lost the exclusive control of 
the government, did not cease to be a powerful aristocracy. 
But another class of nobles arose in the fifth century of the 
city, and shared their power — those who had held curule 
offices and were members of the Senate. Their descendants, 
plebeian as well as patrician, had the privilege of placing the 
wax images, of their ancestors in the family hall, and to have 
them carried in funeral processions. They also wore a stripe 
of purple on the tunic, and a gold ring on the finger. These 
were trifling insignia of rank, still they were emblems and 
signs by which the nobility were distinguished. The plebeian 
families, ennobled by their curule ancestors, were united into 
Eoman ^ue body with the patrician families, and became 

nobility. ^ gQj.^. ^f hereditary nobility. This body of exclu- 
sive families really possessed the political power of the 



Chap. XXIX.] Leading Roman Families, 397 

State. The Senate was made up from their members, and 
was the mainstay of Roman nobility. The equites, or eques- 
trian order, was also composed of the patricians and wealthy 
plebeians. Noble youths gradually withdrew from serving 
in the infantry, and the legionary cavalry became a close 
aristocratic corps. Not only were the nobles the possessors 
of senatorial privileges, and enrolled among the equites, but 
they had separate seats from the people at the games and at 
the theatres. The censorship also became a prop to the 
stability of the aristocratic class. 

We have some idea of the influence of the aristocracy from 
the families which furnished the higher offices of Lea-iino- 
the State. Por three centuries the consuls were families. 
chiefly chosen from powerful families. The Cornelii gentes 
furnished fifteen consuls in one hundred and twelve years, 
and the Yalerii, ten. And, what is more remarkable, for the 
following one hundred and fifty years these two families fur- 
nished nearly the same number. In one hundred and twelve 
years fifteen families gave seventy consuls to the Stale : the 
Cornelii, fifteen; the Yalerii, ten; the Clandii, four; the 
^milii, nine; the Fabii, six; the Manilii, four; the Postu- 
mii, two ; the Servilii, three ; the Sulpicii, six ; and also 
about the same number the following one hundred and fifty 
years, thereby showing that old families, whether patrician 
or plebeian, were long kept in sight, and monopolized political 
power. This was also seen in the elevation of young men of 
these ranks to high office before they had reached the lawful 
age. M. Valerius Corvus was consul at twenty-three, Scipio 
at thirty, and Flaminius at twenty-nine. 

The control of Rome over conquered provinces introduced 
a new class of magistrates, selected by the Senate, Provincial 

T 1 f. 1 • • • T mi governors. 

and chosen from the aristocratic circles, i hese were 
the provincial governors or praetors, who had great power, 
and who sometimes appeared in all the pomp of kings. They 
resided in the ancient palaces of the kings, and had great 
opportunities for accumulating fortunes. Nor could the gov- 
ernors be called to account, until after their term of office 



393 Boman Civilization. [Chap. xxix. 

expired, which rarely happened. The governors were, virtu- 
ally, sovereigns wliile they continued in office — were satraps, 
who conducted a legalized tyranny abroad, and returned 
home arrogant and accustomed to adulation — a class of men 
who proved dangerous to the old institutions, those which 
recognized equality within the aristocracy and the subordi' 
nation of power to the senatorial college. 

The burgesses, or citizens, before this period, were a very 
respectable body, patriotic and sagacious. They occupied 
chiefly Latium, a part of Campania, and the maritime colo- 
Deciine of nics. But gradually, a rabble of clients grew 
gesses. up on footing of equality with these independent 

burgesses. These clients, as the aristocracy increased in 
wealth and power, became parasites and beggars, and under- 
mined the burgess class, and controlled the Comitia. This 
class rapidly increased, and were clamorous for games, fes- 
tivals, and cheap bread, for corn was distributed to them 
by those who wished to gain their favor at elections, at less 
than cost. Hence, festivals and popular amusements became 
Public rapidly a great feature of the times. For five hun- 

amusements. (ji^ed years the people had been contented with 
one festival in a year, and one circus. Flaminius added 
another festival, and another circus. In the year 550 of the 
city, there were five festivals. The candidates for the con- 
sulship spent large sums on these games, the splendor of 
which became the standard by which the electoral body 
measured the fitness of candidates. A gladiatorial show 
cost seven hundred and twenty thousand sesterces, or thirty- 
six thousand dollars. 

And corruption extended to the army. The old burgess 
militia were contented to return home with some trifling 
gift as a memorial of victory, but the troops of Scipio, and 
Decay of the vctcraus of the Macedonian and Asiatic wars, 

inilitarj ., at i» 

Bpirit. came back enriched with spoils. A decay oi a 

warlike spirit was observable from the time the burgesses 
converted war into a traffic in plunder. A great passion also 
arose for titles and insignia, which appeared under difierent 



Chap. XXIX.] CatO. 399 

forms, especially for the honors of a triumph, originally 
granted only to the supreme magistrate who had signally 
augmented the power of the State. Statues and monuments 
were often erected at the expense of the person whom they 
purported to honor. And finally, the ring, the robe, and the 
amulet case distinguished not only the burgesses from the 
foreigners and slaves, but also the person who was Distinctions 
born free from one who had been a slave, the son ^^ society. 
of the free-born from the son of the manumitted, the son of a 
knight from a common burgess, the descendant of a curule 
house from the common senators. These distinctions in rank 
kept pace with the extension of conquests, until, at last, there 
was as complete a net work of aristocratic distinctions as in 
England at the present day. 

All these distinctions and changes were bitterly deplored 
by Marcus Fortius Cato — the last ffreat statesman 

^ . ° Cato. 

of the older school — a genuine Roman of the 
antique stamp. He was also averse to schemes of universal 
empire. He was a patrician, brought up at the plow, and 
in love with his Sabine farm. Yet he rose to the consulship, 
and even the censorship. He served in war under Marcellus, 
Fabius, and Scipio, and showed great ability as a soldier. 
He was as distinguished in the forum as in the camp and 
battle-field, having a bold address, pungent wit, and great 
knowledge of the Roman laws. He was the most influential 
political orator of his day. He was narrow in his political 
ideas, conservative, austere, and upright ; an enemy to all 
corruption and villainy, also to genius, and culture, and inno- 
vation. He was the protector of the Roman farmer, plain, 
homely in person, disdained by the ruling nobles, but fear- 
less in exposing corruption from any quarter, and irrecon- 
cilably at war with aristocratic coteries, like the Scipios 
and Flaminii. He was publicly accused twenty-four times, 
but he was always backed by the farmers, notwithstanding 
the opposition of the nobles. He erased, while censor, the 
name of the brother of Flaminius from the roll of senators, 
and the brother of Scipio from that of the equites. He 



400 Roman Civilization. [Chap. xxix. 

attempted a vigorous reform, but the current of corruption 
could only be stemmed for awhile. The eflfect of the sump- 
tuary laws, which were passed through his influence, was 
temporary and unsatisfactory. No legislation has proved 
of avail against a deep-seated corruption of morals, for the 
laws will be avoided, even if they are not defied. In 
vain was the eloquence of the hard, arbitrary, narrow, 
worldly wise, but patriotic and stern old censor. The age 
of Grecian culture, of wealth, of banquets, of palaces, of 
games, of effeminate manners, had set in with the conquest 
of Greece and Asia. The divisions of society widened, and 
the seeds of luxury and pride were to produce violence and 
decay. 

Still some political changes were effected at this time. The 
Political Comitia Centuriata was remodeled. The equites 
changes. jjq lono^cr votcd first. The five classes obtained 
an equal number of votes, and the freedmen were placed on 
an equal footing with free-born. Thus terminated the long 
conflict between patricians and plebeians. But although 
the right of precedence in voting was withdrawn from the 
equites, still the patrician order was powerful enough to fill, 
frequently, the second consulship and the second censorship, 
which were open to patricians and plebeians alike, with men 
of their own order. At this time the oftice of dictator went 
into abeyance, and was practically abolished ; the priests were 
elected by the whole community ; the public assemblies inter- 
fered with the administration of the public property — the 
exclusive prerogative of the Senate in former times — and thus 
transferred the public domains to their own pockets. These 
were changes which showed the disorganization of the gov- 
ernment rather than healthy reform. To this period we date 
Rise of ^'^^^ ^'^^^ ^^ demagogues, for a minority in the 

demagogues. Senate had the right to appeal to the Comitia, 
which opened the way for wealthy or popular men to thwart 
the wisest actions and select incompetent magistrates and 
generals. Even Publius Scipio was not more distinguished 
for his arrogance and title-hunting than for the army of 



Chap. XXIX.] Sla^OeTlJ. 401 

clients he supported, and for the favor which he courted, 
of both legions and people, by his largesses of grain. 

At this period, agriculture had reached considerable per- 
fection, but Cato declared that his fancy farm was 
not profitable. Figs, apples, pears were cultivated, ^"^^ ^^' 
as well as olives and grapes — also shade-trees. The rearing 
of cattle was not of much account, as the people lived chiefly 
on vegetables, and fruits and corn. Large cattle were kept 
only for tillage. Considerable use was made of poultry and 
pigeons — kept in the farm-yard. Fish-ponds and hare-pre- 
serves were also common. The labor of the fields was per- 
formed by oxen, and asses for carriage and the turning of 
mills. The human labor on farms was done by slaves. 
Vineyards required more expenditure of labor than ordinary 
tillage. An estate of one hundred jugera, with vine planta- 
tions, required one plowman, eleven slaves, and two herds- 
men. The slaves were not bred on the estate, but were pur- 
chased. They lived in the farm-buildings, among cattle and 
produce. A separate house was erected for the master. A 
steward had the care of the slaves. The stewardess attended 
to the bakms: and cookino;, and all had the same ^, , 

^ °' The slaves. 

fare, delivered from the produce of the farm on 
which they lived. Great unscrupulousness pervaded the 
management of these estates. Slaves and cattle were placed 
on the same level, and both were fed as long as they could 
worlv-, and sold when they were incapacitated by age or sick- 
ness. A slave had no recreations or holidays. His time was 
spent between working and sleeping. And when we remem- 
ber that these slaves were white as well as black, and had 
once been free, their condition was hard and inhuman. No 
negro slavery ever was so cruel as slavery among the 
Romans. Great labors and responsibilities were imposed 
upon the steward. He was the first to rise in the morning, 
and the last to go to bed at night ; but he was not doomed 
to constant labor, like the slaves whom he superintended. 
He also had few pleasures, and was obsequious to the land- 
lord, who performed no work, except in the earlier ages. The 
26 



402 Roman Gimlizatio7i. [Chap. xxix. 

small farmer worked himself with the slaves and his 
Small children. He more frequently cultivated flowers 

farmers. ^nd Vegetables for the market of Rome. Pastoral 
husbandry was practiced on a great scale, and at least eight 
hundred jugera were required. On such estates, horses, oxen, 
mules, and asses were raised, also herds of swme and goats. 
The breeding of sheep was an object of great attention and 
interest, since all clothing was made of wool. The shepherd- 
slaves lived in the open air, remote from human habita- 
tions, under sheds and sheep-folds. 

The prices of all produce were very small in comparison 
with present rates, and this was owing, in part, to the 
Immense quantities of corn and other produce delivered by 
provincials to the Roman government, sometimes gratuitous- 
ly. The armies were supported by transmarine corn. The 
government regulated prices. In the time of Scipio, African 
Decline of wlicat was sold as low as twelve ases for six onodii 
ogricuitme. — ^qj^q j^jj^]^ ^^ \^c^\^ bushel) — about sixpence. At 
one time two hundred and forty thousand bushels of Sicilian 
grain were distributed at this price. The rise of demagogism 
promoted these distributions, which kept prices down, so that 
the farmers received but a small reward for labors, which 
made, of course, the condition of laborers but little above 
that of brutes : when the people of the capital paid but six- 
pence sterling for a bushel and a half of wheat, or one hun- 
dred and eighty pounds of dried figs, or sixty pounds of oil, or 
seventy-two pounds of meat, four and a half gallons of wine 
sold only for fivepence, or three-tifths of a denarius. In the 
time of Polybius, the traveler w^as charged for victuals and 
lodgings at an inn only about two farthings a day, and a bushel 
of wheat sold for fourpence. At such prices there was very 
little market for the farmer. Sicily and Sardinia were the 
real granaries of Rome. Thus were all the best interests of 
The farmers ^^^® couutry Sacrificed to the unproductive popu- 
the"dty^^ ^"^ lation of the city. Such was the golden age of the 
■ population, republic — a state of utter misery, and hardship 
among the productive classes, and idleness among the Roman 



Chap. XXIX.] Business and Money. 408 

people — a state of society which could but lead to ruin. The 
farmers, without substantial returns, lost energy and spirit, 
and dwindled away. Their estates fell into the hands of 
great proprietors, who owned great numbers of slaves. They 
themselves were ruined, and sunk into an ignoble class. 
The cultivation of grain in Italy was gradually neglected, 
and attention was given chiefly to vines, and olives, and 
wool. The rearing of cattle became more profitable than 
tillage, and small farms were absorbed in great estates. 

The monetary transactions of the Romans were pre- 
eminently conspicuous. No branch of commer- 
cial industry was prosecuted with more zeal than 
money-lending. The bankers of Home were a great class, 
and were generally rich. They speculated in corn and all 
articles of produce. Usury was not disdained even by the 
nobles. Money-lending became a great system, and all the 
laws operated in favor of capitalists. 

Industrial art did not keep pace with usurious calculations, 
and trades were concentrated in the capital. Mechanical 
skill was neglected in all the rural districts. 

Business operations Avere usually conducted by slaves. 
Even money-lenders and bankers made use of them. Business 
Every one who took contracts for building, bought ^P^^^^t^o^^s. 
architect slaves. Every one who provided spectacles pur- 
chased a band of serfs expert in the art of fighting. The 
merchants imported wares in vessels managed by slaves. 
Mines were worked by slaves. Manufactories were con- 
ducted by slaves. Everywhere were slaves. 

While the farmer obtained only fourjDence a bushel for his 
wheat, a penny a gallon for his wine, and fivepence for sixty 
pounds of oil, the capitalists, centered in Rome, possessed 
fortunes which were vastly disproportionate to Great for- 
those which are seen in modern capitals. Paulus *^°®®* 
was not reckoned wealthy for a senator, but his estate was 
valued at sixty talents, nearly £15,000, or 175,000. In other 
words, the daily interest of his capital was fifteen dollars, 
enough to purchase one hundred and eighty bushels of 



404 Roman Civilization. [Chap. xxix. 

wheat — as much as a farmer could raise in a year on eight 
jugera — a farm as large as that of Cincinnatus. Each of the 
daughters of Scipio received as a dowry fifty talents, or 
$60,000. The value of this sum, in our money, when measured 
by the scale of wheat, or oil, or wine — allowing wheat now 
to be worth five shillings sterling a bushel — against fivepence 
m those times, would make gold twelve times more valuable 
then than now. And hence, Scipio left each of his daughters 
a sum equal to $720,000 of our money. In estimating the 
fortune of a Roman, by the prices charged at an inn per day, 
a penny would go further then than a dollar would now. But 
I think that gold and silver, in the time of Scipio, were about 
the same value as in England at the time of Henry VIL, 
about twenty times our present standard. 

Every law at Rome tended in its operation to the benefit 
of the creditor, and to vast accumulations of property ; for 
The rich ^^ government being in the hands of the rich, 
favored. ^s in England a century since, and in P'rance 
before the Revolution, favored the rich at the expense of the 
poor. It became disgraceful at Rome to perform manual 
labor, and a wall separated the laboring classes from the cap- 
italists, which could not be passed. Industrial art took the 
lowest place in the scale of labor, and was in the bands of 
slaves. The traftic in money, and the farming of the reve- 
nue formed the mainstay and stronghold of the Roman 
economy. The free population of Italy declined, while the 
city of Rome increased. The loss was supplied by slaves. 
In the year 502 of the city, the Roman burgesses in Italy 
numbered two hundred and ninety-eight thousand men 
capable of bearing arms. Fifty years later, the number 
was only two hundred and fourteen thousand. The nation 
visibly diminished, and the community was resolved into 
masters and slaves. And this decline of citizens and in- 
crease of slaves were beheld with indifference, for pride, and 
cruelty, and heartlessness were the characteristics of the 
higher classes. 

With the progress of luxury, and the decline of the rural 



Chap. XXIX.] Education. 405 

population, and the growth of disproportionate fortunes, 
residence in the capital became more and more Extravagant 

Dricps for 

coveted, and more and more costly. Kents rose luxuries. 
to an unexampled height. Extravagant prices were paid for 
luxuries. When a bushel of corn sold for fivepence, a barrel 
of anchovies from the Black Sea cost £14, and a beautiful 
boy twenty-four thousand sesterces (£246), more than a 
farmer's homestead. Money came to be prized as the end of 
life, and all kinds of shifts and devices were made to secure 
it. Marriage, on both sides, became an object of mercantile 
speculation. 

In regard to education, there was a higher development 
than is usually supposed, and literature and art were culti- 
tivated, even while the nation declined in real virtue and 
strength. By means of the Greek slaves, the 
Greek language and literature reached even the 
lower ranks, to a certain extent. " The comedies indicate 
that the humblest classes were familiar with a sort of Latin, 
which could no more be understood without a knowledge of 
Greek, than Wieland's German without a knowledge of 
French." Greek was undoubtedly spoken by the higher 
classes, as French is spoken in all the courts of Europe. In 
the rudiments of education, the lowest people were instructed, 
and even slaves were schoolmasters. At the close of the Pu- 
nic wars, both comedy and tragedy were among the great 
amusements of the Romans, and great writers arose, who 
wrote, however, from the Greek models. Livius translated 
Homer, and Nsevius popularized the Greek drama. Plautus, 
it is said, wrote one hundred and thirty plays. The trage- 
dies of Ennius were recited to the latter days of the empire. 
The Romans did not, indeed, make such advance in literature 
as the Greeks, at a comparatively early period of their his- 
tory, but their attainments were respectable when Carthage 
was destroyed. 



CHAPTEE XXX. 

THE EEFORM MOVEMENT OF THE GEACCHL 

A NEW era in the history of Rome now commences, a 
period of glory and shame, when a great change took place 
in the internal structure of the State, now corrupted by the 
introduction of Greek and Asiatic refinements, and the vast 
wealth which rolled into the capital of the world. 

"For a whole generation after the battle of Pydna, the 
Eome after Roman State enjoyed a profound calm, scarcely 

iij6 D^LLic or 

Pydna. varied by a ripple here and there upon the surface. 

Its dominion extended over three continents ; all eyes rested 
on Italy; all talents and all riches flowed thither; it seemed 
as if a golden age of peaceful prosperity and intellectual en- 
joyment of hfe had begun. The Orientals of this period told 
each other with astonishment of the mighty republic of the 
West. And such was the glory of the Romans, that no one 
usurped the crown, and no one glittered in purple dress; 
but they obeyed whomsoever from year to year they made 
their master, and there was among them neither envy nor 
discord." 

So things seemed at a distance. But this splendid external 
was deceptive. The government of the aristocracy was has- 
tening to its ruin. There was a profound meaning, says 
Mommsen, in the question of Cato : " What was to become of 
Theineffi- Rome when she should no longer have anv State 

ciency of the . . 

government, to fear ?" All her neighbors were now politically 
annihilated, and the single thought of the aristocracy was 
how they should perpetuate their privileges. A government 
of aristocratic nobodies was now inaugurated, which kept 
new men of merit from doing any thing, for fear they should 



Chap. XXX.] Aristocratic Life, 407 

belong to their exclusive ranks. Even an aristocratic con- 
queror was inconvenient. 

Still opposition existed to this aristocratic r%ime, and 
some reforms had been carried out. The adminis- Opposition 

, . f, . . . T jT,, . , to the ruling 

tration or justice was miproved. Ihe senatorial classes, 
commissions to the provinces were found inadequate. An 
effort was made to emancipate the Comitia from the prepon- 
dering influence of the aristocracy. The senators were com- 
pelled to renounce their public horse on admission to the 
Senate, and also tlie privilege of voting in the eighteen eques- 
trian centuries. But there was the semblance of increased 
democratic power rather than the reality. All the great 
questions of the day turned upon the election of the curule 
magistracies, and there was sufiicient influence among the 
nobles to secure these offices. Young men from noble fami- 
lies crowded into the political arena, and claimed what once 
was the reward of distinguished merit. Powerful connec- 
tions were indispensable for the enjoyment of political power, 
as in England at the time of Burke. A large body of clients 
waited on their patron early every morning, and the candi- 
dates for office used all those arts which are customary when 
votes were to be bought. The government no longer dis- 
posed of the property of burgesses for the public good, nor 
favored the idea among them that they were exempted from 
taxes. Political corruption reached through all grades and 
classes. Capitalists absorbed the small farms, and 

r. , T 1 n 1 ■ y-t • Capitalists. 

great fortunes were the scandal of the times. Capi- 
tal was more valued than labor. Italian farms depreciated 
from the conversion of tillage into pasture lands and parks, 
as in England at the present day. Slavery inordinately 
increased from the captives taken in war. Western Asia 
furnished the greatest number of this miserable population, 
and Cretan and Cilician slave-hunters were found on all 
the coasts of Syria and Greece. Delos was the great slave- 
market of the world, where the slave-dealers of 
Asia Minor disposed of their wares to Italian specu- 
lators. In one day as many as ten thousand slaves were 



^408 The Reform Movement, [Chap. XXX. 

disembarked and sold. Farms, and trades, and mines 
were alike carried on by these slaves from Asia, and their 
sufferings and hardships were vastly greater than ever en- 
dured by negroes on the South Carolinian and Cuban plan- 
tations. But they were of a different race — men who had 
seen better days, and accustomed to civilization — and hence 
they often rose upon their masters. Servile wars were of 
common occurrence. Sicily at one time had seventy thousand 
slaves in arms, and when consular armies were sent to sup- 
press the revolt, the most outrageous cruelties were inflicted. 
Twenty thousand men, at one time, were crucified in Sicily 
by Publius Rupilius. 

At this crisis, when disproportionate wealth and slavery 
were the great social evils, Tiberius Gracchus arose — a young 
Tiberius ™^^ ^^ h\g\\ rank, chivalrous, noble, and eloquent. 
Gracchus. jjjg mother, Cornelia, was the daughter of Scipio 
African us, and therefore belonged to the most exclusive of 
the aristocratic circles. Tiberius Gracchus was therefore the 
cousin of Scipio JEmilianus, under whom he served with dis- 
tinction in Africa. He was seconded in his views of reform 
by some stern old patriots and aristocrats, who had not 
utterly forgotten the interests of the State, now being under- 
mined. Appius Claudius, his father-in-law, who had been 
both consul and censor ; Publius Mucins Scsevola, the great 
lawyer and founder of scientific jurisprudence ; his brother, 
Publius Crassus Mucianus ; the Pontifex Maximus ; Quintus 
Metellus, the conqueror of Macedonia— all men of the highest 
rank and universally respected, entered into his schemes of 
reform. 

This patriotic patrician was elected tribune b. c. 134, at a 
time when political mismanagement, moral decay, the de- 
cline of burgesses, and the increase of slaves, were most 
apparent. So Gracchus, after entering upon his office, pro- 
posed the enaction of an agrarian law, by which all State 
lands, occupied by the possessors without remuneration, 
should revert to the State, except five hundred jugera for 
himself, and two hundred and fifty for each son. The 



Chap. XXX.] The Refovins of Gracchus. 4Q9 

domain land thus resumed was to be divided into lots of 
thirty jngera, and these distributed to burgesses and Italian 
allies, not as freQ property, but inalienable leaseholds, for 
which they paid rent to the State. This was a 

•^ ^ 1 Ti 1 T His reforms. 

declaration of war upon the great landholders. 
The proposal of Gracchus was paralyzed by the vote of his 
colleague, Marcus Octavius. Gracchus then, in his turn, 
suspended the business of the State and the administration 
of justice, and placed his seal on the public chest. The goy- 
ernment was obliged to acquiesce. Gracchus, also, as the year 
was drawing to a close, brought his law to the vote a second 
time. Again it was vetoed by Octavius. Gracchus then, at 
the invitation of the consuls, discussed the matter in the 
Senate ; but the Senate, composed of great proprietors, would 
not yield. All constitutional means were now exhausted, 
and Gracchus must renounce his reform or begin a revolu- 
tion. 

He chose the latter. Before the assembled people he de- 
manded that his colleague should be deposed, nis unlawful 
which was against all the customs, and laws, and movements. 
precedents of the past. The assembly, composed chiefly 
of the proletarians who had come from the country — the 
Comitia Tributa — voted according to his proposal, and 
Octavius was removed by the lictors from the tribune bench^ 
and then the agrarian law was passed by acclamation. The 
commissioners chosen to confiscate aud redistribute the lands 
were Tiberius Gracchus, his brother Caius, and his father-in- 
law Appius Claudius, which family selection vastly increased 
the indignation of the Senate, who threw every obstacle in 
the way. 

The author of the law, fearing for his personal safety, no 
longer appeared in the forum without a retinue of three 
or four thousand men, another cause of bitter hatred on 
the part of the aristocracy. He also sought to be re-elected 
tribune, but the Assembly broke up without a cljoice. The 
next (Jay the election terminated in the same manner, and it 
was rumored in the city that Tiberius had deposed all the 



410 The Reform Movement. [Chap. xxx. 

tribunes, and was resolved to continue in office without re- 
election. A tumult, oriffinatino: with the Senate, 

His death. i a 

was the result. A mob of senators rushed through 
the streets, with fury in their eyes and clubs in their hands. 
The people gave way, and Gracchus was slain on the slope 
of the capitol. The Senate officially sanctioned the outrage, 
on the ground that Tiberius meditated the usurpation of 
supreme power. 

In regard to the author of this agrarian law, there is no 
Character of doubt he was patriotic in his intentions, was public- 
Gracchus. spirited, and wished to revive the older and better 
days of the republic. I do not believe he contemplated the 
usurpation of supreme power. I doubt if he was ambitious, 
as Csesar was. But he did not comprehend the issues at 
stake, and the shock he was giving to the constitution of his 
country. He was like Mirabeau, that other aristocratic re- 
former, who voted for the spoliation of the church property 
of France, on the ground, which that leveling sentimentalist 
Rousseau had advanced, that the church property belonged 
to the nation. But this plea, in both cases, was sophistical. 
It was, doubtless, a great evil that the property of the State 
had fallen into the hands of wealthy proprietors, as it was an 
evil that half the landed property of France was in possession 
of the clergy. But, in both cases, this property had been 
enjoyed uninterruptedly for centuries by the possessors, and, to 
all intents and purposes, M^2i^ private property. And this law 
of confiscation was therefore an encroachment on the rights 
of property, in all its practical bearings. It appeared to the 
jurists of that age to be an ejection of the great landholders 
for the benefit of the proletarians. The measure itself was 
therefore not without injustice, desirable as a division of 
property might be. But the mode to effect this division was 
incompatible with civilization itself. It was an appeal to 
revolutionary forces. It was setting aside all constitutional 
Nature of chccks and usages. It was a defiance of the Senate, 
iiis reform. ^^ great ruling body of the State. It was* an ap- 
peal to the people to overturn the laws. It was like assem- 



Chap. XXX.] Character of Gracchus. 411 

bling tbe citizens of London to override the Parliament. It 
was like the French revolution, when the Assembly was dic- 
tated to by the clubs. Robespierre may have been sincere 
and patriotic, but he was a fanatic, fierce and uncompromis- 
ing. So was Gracchus. In setting aside his colleagues, to 
accomplish what he deemed a good end, he did evil. When, 
this rich patrician collected the proletarian burgesses to 
decree against the veto of the tribune that the public prop- 
erty should be distributed among them, he struck a vital 
blow on the constitution of his country, and made a step 
toward monarchy, for monarchy was only reached through 
the democracy — was only brought about by powerful dema- 
gogues. And hence the verdict of the wise and judicious 
will be precisely that of the leading men of Kome at the time, 
even that of Cornelia herself: " Shall then our house have no 
end of madness? Have we not enough to be ashamed of in 
the disorganization of the State?" 

The law of Tibeiius Gracchus survived its author. The 
Senate had not power to annul it, though it might slay its 
author. The work of redistribution continued, even as the 
•National Assembly of France sanctioned the legislation of 
preceding revolutionists. And in consequence of the law, 
there was, in six years, an increase of burgesses capable of 
bearing arms, of seventy-six thousand. But so many evils 
attended the confiscation and redistribution of the public 
domain — so many acts of injustice were perpetrated — there 
was such gross mismanagement, that the consul Scipio ^mil- 
ianus intervened, and by a decree of the people, through his 
influence, the commission was withdrawn, and the matter 
was left to the consuls to adjudicate, which was virtually the 
suspension of the law itself. For this intervention Scipio. 
lost his popularity, unbounded as it had been, even as Daniel 
Webster lost his prestige and influence when he made hia 
Vth of March speech — the fate of all great men, however 
great, when they oppose popular feelings and The death of 
interests, whether they are right or wrong, Scipio, Scipio. 
the hero of three wars, not only lost his popularity, but bis 



412 TJie Reform Movement. [Chap.xxx. 

life. He was found murdered in his bed at the age of fifty- 
six. "Scipio's assassination was the democratic reply to the 
aristocratic massacre of Tiberius Gracchus." The greatest 
general of the age, a man of unspotted moral purity, and 
political unselfishness, and generous patriotism, could not 
escape the vengeance of a baffled populace, b. c. 129. 

The distribution of land ceased, but the revolution did not 
CaiusGrac- stop. The soul of Tibcrius Gracchus *' was march- 
«^"s- ing on." A new hero appeared in his brother, 

Caius Gracchus, nine years younger — a man who had no 
relish for vulgar pleasures, — brave, cultivated, talented, ener- 
getic, vehement. A master of eloquence, he drew the people ; 
consumed with a passion for revenge, he led them on to 
revolutionary measures. He was elected tribune in the year 
123, and at once declared war on the aristocratic party, to 
which by birth he belonged. 

He inaugurated revolutionary measures, by proposing to 
the people a law which should allow the tribune to solicit a 
re-election. He then, to gain the people and secure ma- 
terial power, enacted that every burgess should be allowed, 
monthly, a definite quantity of corn from the public stores 
at about half the average price. And he caused a law to be 
passed that the existing order of voting in the Coraitia Cen- 
turiata, according to which the five property classes voted 
first, should be done away with, and that all the centuries 
should vote in the order to be determined by lot. He also 
caused a law to be passed that no citizen should enlist in the 
army till seventeen, nor be compelled to serve in the army 
more than twenty years. These measures all had the effect 
to elevate the democracy. 

He also sought to depress the aristocracy, by dividing its 
He makes ranks. , The old aristocracy embraced chiefly the 
aristocracy, governing class, and were the chief possessors of 
landed property. But a new aristocracy of the rich had 
grown up, composed of speculators, who managed the mer- 
cantile transactions of the Roman world. The old sena- 
torial aristocracy were debarred by the Claudian ordinance 



Chap. XXX.] The Equestrian Order, 413 • 

from mercantile pursuits, and were mierelj sleepinjy partners 
in the great companies, managed by the speculators. But 
the new aristocracy, under the nnme of the equestrian order, 
began at this time to have political influence. Originally, 
the equestrians were a burgess cavalry ; but gradually all who 
possessed estates of four hundred thousand sesterces were lia- 
ble to cavaliy service, and became enrolled in the order, which 
thus comprehended the whole senatorial and non-senatorial 
noble society of Rome. In jirocess of time, the The Fqnes- 

^ n 1 'J tnan order. 

senators were exempted from cavalry service, and 
were thus marked off from the list of those liable to do cav- 
alry service. The equestriin order then, at last, compre- 
hended the aristocracy of rich men, in contradistinction from 
the Senate. And a natural antipathy accordingly grew 
up between the old senatorial aristocracy and the men to 
whom money had given rank. The ruling lords stood 
aloof from the speculators ; and were better friends of 
the people than the new moneyed aristocrats, since they, 
brought directly in contact with the people, oppressed them, 
and their greediness and injustice were not usually counten- 
anced by the Senate. The two classes of nobles had united 
to put down Tiberius Gracchus ; but a deep gulf still yawned 
between them, for no class of aristocrats was ever more 
exclusive than the governing class at Rome, confined chiefly 
to the Senate. The Roman Senate was like the House of 
Peers in England, when the peers had a preponderating polit- 
ical power, and whose property lay in landed estates. 

Gracchus raised the power of the equestrians by a law 
which provided that the farming of the taxes raised in the 
provinces should be sold at auction at Rome. A rp^^ specula- 
gold mine was thus opened for the speculators. *"''^- 
He also caused a law to be passed which required the judges 
of civil and criminal cases to be taken from the equestrians, 
a privilege before enjoyed by the Senate. And thus a sena- 
tor, impeached for his conduct as provincial governor, was 
now tried, not as before, by his peers, but by merchants and 
bankers. v 



414 The Reform Movement. [Chap. xxx. 

Gracchus, by the aid of the proletarians and the mercan- 
tile class, then proceeded to the overthrow of the ruling 
aristocracy, especially in the functions of legislation, which 
had belonged to the Senate. By means of comitial laws and 
The power tribunician dictation, he restricted the business of 
curtiiiied. the Senate. He meddled with the public chest by 
distributing corn at half its value; he meddled with the 
domains by sending colonies by decrees of the people ; he 
meddled with provincial administration by overturning the 
regulations which had been made by the Senate. He also 
sought to re-enforce the Senate by three hundred new mem- 
bers from the equestrians elected by the comitia, a creation 
of peers which would have reduced the Senate to dependence 
on the chief of the State. But this he did not succeed in 
effecting. 

It is singular that he could have carried these measures 
during his term of office, two years, for he was re-elected, 
Radical re- with SO little Opposition— a proof of the power of 
forms. ^|jg moneyed classes, such, perhaps, as are now 

represented by the Commons of England. The great change 
he sought to effect was the re-election of m agistrates — an un- 
limited tribuneship, which was truly Napoleonic. And he 
knew what he was doing. He was not a fanatic, but a 
statesman of great ability, seeking to break the oligarchy, 
and transfer its powers to the tribunes of the people. He 
desired a firm administration, but resting on continuous indi- 
vidual usurpations. He was a political incendiary, like Mira- 
beau. He was the true founder of that teriible civic proleta- 
riate, which, flattered by the classes above it, led to the 
usurpations of Sulla and Caesar. He is the author of the 
great change, which in one hundred years was effected, of 
transferring power from the Senate to an emperor. He fur- 
nished the tactics for all succeeding demagogues. 

Great revolutionists are doomed to experience the loss of 
Gracchus popularity, and Gracchus lost his by an attempt 
popularity, to extend the Roman franchise to the people of 
the provinces. The Senate and the mob here united to pre- 



Off Ap. XXX.] Death of Gracchus. 415 

vent what was ultimately effected. The Senate seized the 
advantage by inciting a rival demagogue, in the person of 
Marcus Livius Drusus, to propose laws which gave still 
greater privileges to the equestrians. The Senate bid for 
popularity, as English prime ministers have retained place, 
by granting more to the people than their rivals would have 
granted. The Livian laws, which released the proletarians 
from paying rent for their lands, were ratified by the people as 
readily as the Sempronian laws had been. The foundation of 
the despotism of Gracchus was thus assailed by the Senate 
uniting with the proletarians. An opportunity was only 
wanted to effect his complete overthrow. 

On the expiration of two years, Gracchus ceased to he tri- 
bune, and his enemy, Lucius Opimius, a stanch aristocrat, 
entered upon his office. The attack on the ex-tribune was 
made by prohibiting the restoration of Carthage, which Grac- 
chus had sought to effect, and which was a popular measure. 
On the day when the burgesses assembled with a view to 
reject the measure which Gracchus had previously secured, 
he appeared with a large body of adherents. An attendant 
on the consul demanded their dispersion, on which he was 
cut down by a zealous Gracchian. On this, a tumult arose. 
Gracchus in vain sought to be heard, and even interrupted a 
tribune in the act of speaking, which was against an obsolete 
law. This offense furnished a pretense for the Senate and the 
citizens to arm. Gracchus retired to the temple of Castor, 
and passed the night, while the capitol was filled with armed 
men. The next day, he fled beyond the Tiber, but Gracchus 
the Senate placed a price upon his head, and he was '^ss^*^^'^**®^ 
overtaken and slain. Three thousand of his adherents were 
strangled in prison, and the memory of the Gracchi remained 
officially proscribed. But Cornelia put on mourning for her 
last son, and his name became embalmed in the hearts of 
the democracy. 

Thus peiished Caius Gracchus, a wiser man than his brother 
— a man who attempted greater changes, and did jj.^ , ^ 
not defy the constitutional forms. He was, undoubt- *«"•• 



416 The Reform Movement. [Chap. xxx. 

edly, patriotic in his intentions, but the reforms which he 
projected were radical, and would have changed the whole 
structure of government. It was the consummation of the 
war against the patrician oligarchy. Whether wise or fool- 
ish, it is not for me to give an opinion, since such an opinion 
is of no account, and would imply equally a judgment as to 
the relative value of an aristocratical or democratic form of 
government, in a corrupt age of Roman society. This is a* 
mooted point, and I am not capable of settling it. The efforts 
of the Gracchi to weaken the power of the ruling noble houses 
formed a precedent for subsequent reforms, or usurpations, as 
they are differently regarded, and led the way to the rule of 
demagogues, to be supplanted in time by that of emperors, 
with unbounded military authority. 



CHAPTEK XXXI. 

THE WARS WITH JUGURTHA AND THE CIMBRI. — MAEIUS. 

The fall of the Gracchi restored Rome to the rule of the 
oligarchy. The government of the Senate was resumed, and 
a war of prosecution was carried on against the followers of: 
Gracchus. His measures were allowed to drop. The claims 
of the Italian allies were disregarded, the noblest of all the 
schemes of the late tribune, that of securing legal equality 
between the Koman buro-esses and their Italian allies. The 
restoration of Carthage was set aside. Italian colonies were 
broken up. The allotment commission was abolished, and a 
fixed rent was imposed on the occupants of the public do- 
mains, but the proletariate of the capital continued to have 
a distribution of corn, and jurymen or judges (judices) were 
still selected from the mercantile classes. The Senate con 
tinned to be composed of effeminated nobles, and insignificant 
persons were raised to the highest offices. 

The administration, under the restoration, was feeble and 
unpopular. Social evils spread with alarming rapidity. 
Both slavery and great fortunes increased. The provinces 
were miserably governed, while pirates and robbers pillaged 
the countries around the Mediterranean. There was a great 
revolt of slaves in Sicily, who gained, for a time, the mastery 
of the island. 

While public affairs were thus disgracefully managed, a 
war broke out between ISTumidia and Rome. That ,j,^g Numia- 
African kinsfdom extended from the river Moloc- ^'•^°^ ^^^- 
ath to the great Syrtis on the one hand, and to Gyrene and 
Egypt on the other, and included the greatest part of ihot 
ancient Carthaginian territories. Numidia, next to Egypt^ 

27 



418 Jugurthan and Cimhrian Wars. [Chap. xxxi. 

was the most important of the Roman client States. On the 
fall of Carthage, it was ruled by the eldest son of Masinissa, 
Micipsa, a feeble old man, who devoted himself to the study 
of philosophy, rather than affairs of State. The government 
was really in the hands of his nephew, Jugurtha, 
"^"^ *■ courageous, sagacious, and able. He was adopted 
by Micipsa, to rule in conjunction with his two sons, Adher- 
bal and Hiempsal. In the year b. c. 118 Micipsa died, and a 
collision arose, as was to be expected, among his heirs. 
Hiempsal was assassinated, and the struggle for the Numid- 
ian crown lay between Adherbal and Jugurtha. The latter 
seized the whole territory, and Adherbal escaped to Rome, 
and laid his complaint before the Senate. Jugurtha's envoys 
also appeared, and the Senate decreed that the two heirs 
should have the kingdom equally divided between them, but 
Jugurtha obtained the more fertile western half. 

Then war arose between the two kings, and Adherbal was 
defeated, and retired to his capital, Cirta, where he was 
besieged by Jugurtha. Adherbal made his complaints to 
Rome, and a commission of aristocratic but inexperienced 
young men came to the camp of Jugurtha to arrange the 
difficulties. Jugurtha rejected their demands, and the young 
men returned home. Adherbal sent asrain messens^ers to 
Rome, being closely pressed, demanding intervention. The 
Senate then sent Marcus Scaurus, who held endless debates 
with Jugurtha, at Utica, to which place he was summoned. 
These were not attended with any results. Scaurus returned 
to Rome, and Jugurtha pressed the siege of Girta, which soon 
capitulated. Adherbal was executed with cruel torture, and 
the adult population was put to the sword. 

A cry of indignation arose in Italy. The envoys of Jugur- 
tha were summarily dismissed, and Scaurus was sent to 
Africa with an army, but a peace with Rome was purchased 
by the African prince through the bribery of the generals. 
The legal validity of the peace was violently assailed in tho 
Senate, and Massiva, a grandson of Masinissa, then in Rome, 
laid claim to the Numidian throne. But this prince was 



Chap.xxxl] Metellus, 419 

assassinated by one of the confidants of Jugurtha, which out- 
rage, perpetrated under the eyes of the Roman government, 
led to a renewed declaration of war, and Spurius Albinus 
was intrusted with the command of an army. But Jugurtha 
bribed the Roman general into inaction, and captured the 
Roman camp. This resulted in the evacuation of !Numidia, 
and a second treaty of peace. 

Such an ignoble war created intense dissatisfaction at 
Rome, and the Senate was obliged to cancel the treaty, 
and renewed the war in earnest, intrusting the conduct of 
it to Quintus Metellus, an aristocrat, of course, 
but a man of great ability. Selecting for his 
lieutenants able generals, he led over his army to Africa. 
Jugurtha made proposals of peace, which were refused, and 
he prepared for a desperate defense. Intrenched on a ridge 
of hills in the wide plain of Muthul, he awaited the attack 
of his enemies, but was signally defeated by Metellus, assisted 
by Marius, a brave plebeian, who had risen from the common 
soldiers. After this battle Juscurtha contented himself with 
a guerrilla warfare, while his kingdom was occupied by the 
conquerors. Metellus even intrigued to secure the assassi- 
nation of the king. 

The w^ar continued to be prosecuted without decisive 
results, as is so frequently the case when civilized DifRcnities 
nations fight with barbarians. Like the war of ^^^^^ ^*^- • 
Charlemagne against the Saxons, victories were easily 
obtained, but the victors gained unsubstantial advantages. 
Jugurtha retired to inaccessible deserts with his children, his 
treasures, and his best troops, to await better times. Numidia 
was seemingly reduced, but its king remained in arms. 

It was then, in the third year of the renewed war, that 
Metellus was recalled, and Marius, chosen consul, 
was left with the supreme command. But even he ^"'^^' 
did not find it easy, with a conquering army, to seize Jugur-, 
tha, and he was restricted to a desultory war. At last 
Bocchus, king of Mauritania, slighted by the Romans, but 
in alliance with Jugurtha, effected by treachery what could 



420 Jugurthan and Gimbrian W(\rs. [Chap. xxxi. 

not be gained by arms. He entered into negotiations with 
Marius to deliver up the king of Numidia, who had married 
his daughter, and had sought his protection. Marius sent 
Sulla to consummate the treachery. Jugurtha, the traitor, 
was thus in turn sacrificed, and became a Roman prisoner. 

This miserable war lasted seven years, and its successful 
Close of the termination secured to Marius a splendid triumph, 
^^'^- at which the conquered king, with his two sons, 

appeared in chains before the triumphal car, and was then 
executed in the subterranean prison on the Capitoline Hill. 

Numidia was not converted into a Roman province, but 
Eesuits of ^^^^ ^ client State, because the country could not 
the war. \^q hoidi without an army on the frontiers. The 
Jugurthan war was important in its consequences, since it 
brought to light the venality of the governing lords, and 
made it evident that Rome must be governed by a degene- 
rate and selfish oligarchy, or by a tyrant, whether in the 
form of a demagogue, like Gracchus, or a military chieftain, 
like Marius. 

But a more difficult war than that waged against the 
barbarians of the African deserts was now to be con- 
ducted against the barbarians of European forests. The war 
with the Cimbri was also more important in its 
The Cimbri. p^^^^j^^^ rcsults. There had been several encoun- 
ters with the northern nations of Spain, Gaul, and Italy, 
under different names, with different successes, which it 
would be tedious to describe. But the contest with the 
Cimbri has a great and historic interest, since they were the 
first of the Germanic tribes with which the Romans con- 
tended. Mommsen thinks these barbarians were Teutonic, 
although, among older historians, they were supposed to be 
Celts. The Cimbri were a migratory people, who left their 
northern homes with their wives and children, goods and 
chattels, to seek more congenial settlements than they had 
found in the Scandinavian forests. The wagon was their 
house. They were tall, fair-haired, with bright blue eyes. 
They were well armed with sword, spear, shield, and helmet. 



Char XXXI.] Invasion of the Cimhrians, 421 

They were brave warriors, careless of danger, and willing to 
die. They were accompanied by priestesses, whose warn- 
ino:s were reo^arded as voices from, heaven. 

Tliis homeless people of the Cimbri, prevented from ad- 
vancing south on the Danube by the barrier raised by tho 
Celts, advanced to the passes of the Carnian Alps, ^^^ ^ 
B. c. 113, protected by Cnseus Papirius Oarbo, not the cimbii. 
far from Aqiiileia. An engagement took place not far from 
the modern Corinthia, where Carbo was defeated. Some 
years after, they proceeded westward to the left bank of the 
Rhine, and over the Jura, and again threatened the lioman 
territory. Again was a Roman army defeated under Silanus 
in Southern Gaul, and the Cimbii sent envoys to Rome, with 
the request that they might be allowed peaceful settlements. 
The Helvetii, stimulated by the successes of the Cimbri, also 
sought more fertile settlements in Western Gaul, and formed 
an alliance with the Cimbri. They crossed the Jura, the 
western barrier of Switzerland, succeeded in decoying the 
Roman army under Longinus into an ambush, and gained 
a victory. 

In the year b. c. 105, the Cimbrians, under their king 
Boiorix, advanced to the invasion of Italv. They , . . 

' *' •' Invasion of 

were opposed on the right bank of the Rhone by itaiy. 
the proconsul Csepio, and on the left by the consul Cnaeus 
Mallius Maximus, and the consular Marcus Aurelius Scaurus. 
The first attack fell on the latter general, who was taken 
prisoner and his corps routed. Maximus then ordered his 
colleague to bring his army across the Rhone, where the 
Roman force stood confronting the whole Cimbrian army, 
but Ca?pio refused. The mutual jealousy of these generals, 
and refusal to co-operate, led to one of the most disastrous 
defeats which the Romans ever suffered. No less than 
eighty thousand soldiers, and half as many more camp fol- 
lowers, perished. The battle of Aransio (Orange) filled 
Rome with alarm and fear, and had the Cimbrians imme- 
diately advanced through the passes of the Alps to Italy, 
OYerwhelmiug disasters might have ensued. 



422 Jugurthan and Cirribrian Wars. [Chap. xxxl 

In this crisis, Marius was called to the supreme command, 
Marins hated as he was by the aristocracy, which still 

called to . ... 

command. ruled, and in defiance of the law which prohibited 
the holding of the consulship more than once. He was ac- 
companied by a still greater man, Lucius Sulla, destined to 
acquire great distinction. Marius maintained a strictly de- 
fensive attitude within the Roman territories, training and 
disciplining his troops for the contest which was yet to come 
with the most formidable antagonists the Romans had ever 
encountered, and who were destined in after times to sub- 
vert the empire. 

The Cinibri formed a confederation with the Helvetii and 
the Teutons, and after an unsuccessful attempt to sweep 
away the Belgse, who resisted them, concluded to invade 
Italy, through Roman Gaul and the Western passes of the 
Alps. They crossed the Rhone' without difficulty, and re- 
sumed the struggle with the Romans. Marius awaited them 
in a well-chosen camp, well fortified and provisioned, at the 
confluence of the Rhone and the Isere, by which he inter- 
cepted the passage of the barbarians, either over the Little 
St. Bernard — the route Hannibal had taken — or along the 
coast. The barbarians attacked the camp, but were repulsed. 
They then resolved to pass the camp, leaving an enemy iu 
the rear, and march to Italy. Marius, for six days, permit- 
ted them to defile with their immense basrffaije, and when 
their march was over, followed in the steps of the enemy, 
Battle of who took the coast road. At Aquae Sextiae the 

Aquae Sex- . . ^. . 

tisB. contendmg parties came mto collision, and the 

barbarians were signally defeated; the whole horde was 
scattered, killed, or taken prisoners. It would seem that 
these barbarians were Teutons or Germans; but on the 
south side of the Alps, the Cimbri and Helvetii crossed the 
Alps by the Brenner Pass, and descended upon the plains of 
Italy. The passes had been left unguarded, and the Roman 
army, under Catulus, on the banks of the Adige, suffered a 
defeat, and retreated to the right bank of the Po. The 
whole plain between the Po and the Alps was in the hands 



Chap. XXXI.] Battle of Vercillce, 428 

of the barbarians, who did not press forward, as they should 
have done, but retired into winter quarters, where they be- 
came demorahzed by the warm baths and abundant stores 
of that fertile and lovely region. Thus the Romans gained 
time, and the victorious Marius, relinquishing all attempts 
at the conquest of Gaul, conducted his army to the banks of 
the Po, and foraied a junction with Catulus. 

The two armies met at Yercilloe, not far from the place 
where Hannibal had fought his first battle on the ^^^^,^ ^^ 
Italian soil. The day of the battle was fixed be- Vercmse. 
forehand by the barbaric general and Marius, on the 80th 
of June, B. c. 101. A complete victory was gained by the 
Romans, and the Cimbri were annihilated. The victory of 
the rough plebeian farmer was not merely over the barba- 
rians, but over the aristocracy. He became, in consequence, 
the leading man in Rome. He had fought his way from the 
ranks to the consulship, and had distinguished himself in all 
the campaigns in which he fought. In Spain, he had arisen to 
the grade of an officer. In the Numantine war he attracted, at 
twenty-three, the notice of Scipio. On his return to Rome, with 
his honorable scars and military eclat^ he married a lady of the 
great patrician house of the Julii. At forty, he obtained 
the prsetorship ; at forty-eight, he was made consul, and 
terminated the African war, and his victories over the Cimbri 
and Teutons enabled him to secure his re-election five con- 
secutive years, which was unexampled in the history of the 
republic. As consul he administered justice impartially, 
organized the military system, and maintained in the army 
the strictest discipline. He had but little culture ; his voice 
was harsh, and his look wild. But he was simple, econom- 
ical, and incorruptible. He stood aloof from society and 
from political parties, exposed to the sarcasms of the aristo- 
crats into whose ranks he had entered. 

He made great military reforms, changing the burgess 
levy into a system of enlistments, and allowing ^gforras of 
every free-born citizen to enlist. He abolished Mariua. 
the aristocratic classification, reduced the infantry of the line 



424 lugurthan and Civibrian Wars. [Chap. xxxi. 

to a level, and raised the number of the legion from four 
thousand two hundred to six thousand, to which he gave a 
new standard — the silver eagle, which proclaims the advent 
of emperors. The army was changed from a militia to a 
band of mercenaries. 

After effecting these military changes, he sought political 
supremacy by taking upon himself the constitutional magis- 
tracies. In effecting this he was supported by the popular, 
or democratic party, which now regained its political import- 
ance. He, therefore, obtained the consulship for the sixth 
time, while his friends among the popular party were made 
tribunes and praetors. He was also supported at the elec- 
tion by his old soldiers wbo had been discharged. 

But the whole aristocracy rallied, and Marius was not 
sufficiently a politician to cope with experienced demagogues. 
He made numerous blunders, and lost his political influence. 
But he accepted his position, and waited for his time. Not 
in the field of politics was he to arise to power, but in the 
strife and din of arms. An opportunity was soon afforded 
in the convulsions w^hich arose from the revolt of the B-oraan 
allies in Italy, soon followed by civil wars. It is these wars 
whicb next claim our notice. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

THE REVOLT OF ITALY, AND THE SOCIAL WAR. ^MARIUS 

AND SULLA. 

Geeat discontent had long existed among the Italian sub- 
jects of Rome. They were not only oppressed, but they 
enjoyed no political privileges. They did not belong to the 
class of burcresses. 

With the view of extending the Roman franchise, a move- 
ment was made by the tribune, M. Livius Drusus, an aristo- 
crat of great wealth and popular sympathies. He had, also, 
projected other reforms, which made him obnoxious to all 
parties ; but this was peculiarly oiFensive to the order to which 
he belonged, and he lost his life while attempting to effect 
the same reforms which were fatal to Gracchus. 

On his assassination, the allies, who outnumbered the 
Roman burgesses, and who had vainly been seeking citizen- 
ship, found that they must continue without political rights, 
or fight, and they made accordingly vast preparations for 
war. Had all the Italian States been united, they would, 
probably, have obtained their desire without a conflict in the 
field, but in those parts where the moneyed classes preponder- 
ated, the people remained loyal to Rome. But the insurgents 
embraced most of the people in Central and Southern Italy, 
who were chiefly farmers. 

The insurrection broke out in Asculum in Picenum, and 
spread rapidly through Samnium, Apulia, and Lucania. All 
Southern and Central Italy was soon in arms against Rome. 
The Etruscans and Umbrians remained in allegiance as 
they had before taken part with the equestrians, now a 
most powerful body, against Drusus. Italy was divided into 



426 Marius and Sulla. [Chap. xxxii. 

two great military camps. The insurgents sent envoys to 
Rome, with the proposal to lay down their arms if citizenship 
were granted them, but this was refused. Both sides now 
made extensive preparations, and the forces were nearly bal- 
anced. One hundred thousand men were in arras, in two 
divisions, on either side, the Romans commanded by the con- 
sul, Publius Rutilius Lupus, and the Italians by Quintus 
Silo and Caius Papius Mutilus. Gains Marius served as a 
, , . . lieutenant-commander. The war was carried on 

Indecisive 

^''^^- with various successes, for " Greek met Greek." 

The first campaign proved, on the whole, to the disadvantage 
of the Romans, who suffered several defeats. In a political 
point of view, also, the insurgents were the gainers. Great 
despondency reigned in the capital, for the war had become 
serious. At length, it was resolved to grant the political 
franchise to such Italians as had remained faithful, or who 
had submitted. This concession, great as it was, did not 
include the actual insurgents, but it operated in strengthen- 
ino; waverino; communities on the side of Rome. Etruria 
and Umbria were tranquilized. 

The second campaign, b. c. 89, was opened in Picenum. 
Marius was not in the field. His conduct in the previous 
campaign, was not satisfactory, and the conqueror of the 
Cimbri, at sixty-six, was thought to be in his dotage. Ascu- 
lum was besieged and taken by the Romans, who had seven- 
ty-five thousand troops under the walls. The Sabellians and 
Marsians were next subjugated, and all Campania was lost 
to the insurgents, as far as Nola. The Southern army was 
under the command of the consul, Lucius Sulla, 
whose great career had commenced in Africa, under 
Marius. Sulla advanced into the Samnite country and took 
its capital, Bovianum. Under his able generalship, the posi- 
tion of affairs greatly changed. At the close of the cam- 
paign, most of the insurgent regions were subdued. The 
Samnites Avere almost the only people which held out. 

It was fortunate for Rome that the rebellion was so far 
suppressed when the flames of war were rekindled in the 



Chap, xxxii.i The Sulpician Laws. 427 

East. A great reaction against the Roman domination 
had taken place, and the eastern nations seemed Asiatic 
determined to rally once more for independent "'^^°^- 
dominion. This was the last great Asiatic rising till the fall 
of the Roman empire. The potentate under whom the Ori- 
ental forces rallied, was Mithridates, king of Pontns. 

The army of Sulla, in Campania, was destined to embark for 
Asia as soon as the state of things in Southern Italy should al- 
low his departure. So the third campaign of the Social war, as 
it is called, began favorably for Rome, when events transpired 
in the capital which gave fresh life to the almost extinguished 
insurrection. The attack of Drusus on the equestrian class, 
and his sudden downfall, had sown the bitterest discord 
between the aristocracy and the burgess class. The Italian 
communities, received into Roman citizenship, were fettered 
by restrictions which had an odious stigma, which led to 
great irritation, for the aristocracy had conferred the 
franchise grudgingly. And this franchise was moreover 
withheld from the insurgent communities which had again 
submitted. A deep indignation also settled in j)5s„^st of 
the breast of Marius, on his return from the first ^i»"^s. 
campaign, to find himself neglected and forgotten. To these 
discontents were added the distress of debtors, who, amid 
the financial troubles of the war, were unable to pay the 
interest on their debts, and were yet inexorably pressed by 
creditors. 

It was then, in this state of fermentation and demoraliza- 
tion, that the tribune Publius Sulpicius Rufus proposed that 
every senator who owed more than two thousand denarii 
(£82) should forfeit his seat in the Senate ; that Tj^e snipici- 
burgesses condemned by non-free jury courts ^'^^'^^^• 
should have liberty to return home ; and that the new bur- 
gesses should be distributed among all the tribes, in which the 
freed men should also have the privilege of voting. These 
proposals, although* made by a patrician, met with the great- 
est opposition from the Senate, but were passed amid riots 
and tumults. Sulla was on the best terms with the Senate, 



428 Marius and Sulla, \Cti\v. xxxii. 

and Sulpicins feared that he might return from his camp at 
Nola, and take vengeance for these popular measures. The 
tribune, therefore, conceived the plan of taking the command 
from Sulla, who was then consul, and conferring it upon Mari- 
us, who was also to conduct the war against Mithridates, in 
Asia. 

Sulla disobeyed the mandate, and marched to Rome with 
The Sniian ^^^'^ army — little more than a body of mercenaries 
legislation, (^levotcd to him. In his eyes, the sovereign 
Roman citizens were a rabble, and Rome itself a city without 
a garrison. Sulla had an army of thirty-five thousand men, 
and before the Romans could organize resistance he appeared 
at the gate, and crossed the sacred boundary which the law 
had forbidden war to enter. In a few hours Sulla was the 
absolute master of Rome. Marius and Sulpicius fled. It 
was the conservative party which exchanged the bludgeon 
for the sword. Salla at once made null the Sulpician laws, 
punished their author and his adherents, as Sulpicius had 
feared. The gray-haired conqueror of the Cimbri fled, and 
found his way to the coast and embarked on a trading-vessel, 
but the timid mariners put him ashore, and Marius stole 
along the beach with his pursuers in the rear. He was found 
in a marsh concealed in reeds and mud, seized and impris- 
oned by the people of Minturnse, and a Cimbrian slave was 
sent to put him to death. The ax, however, fell from his 
hands when the old hero demanded in a stern voice if he 
dared to kill Caius Marius. The magistrates of the town, 
ashamed, then loosed his fetters, gave him a vessel, and sent 
him to JEnaria (Ischia). There, in those waters, the pro- 
scribed met, and escaped to Numidia, and Sulla was spared 
the odium of putting to death his old commander, who had 
delivered Rome from the Cimbrians. 

Sulla, master of Rome, did not destroy her liberties. He 
Suiian con- Suggested a new series of legislative enactments in 
stituuon. ^j^^ interests of the aristocracy.* He created three 
hundred new senators, and brought back the old Servian 
rule of voting in the Comitia Centuriata. The poorer classes 



Chap, xxxii.l The Sullan Constitution, 429 

WQX,Q thus virtually again disfranchised. He also abolished 
the power of the tribune to propose laws to the people, and 
the initiatory of legislation was submitted to the Senate. 
The absurd custom by which a consul, pra3tor, or tribune, 
could propose to the burgesses any measure he pleased, and 
carry it without debate, was in itself enough to overturn any 
constitution. 

Having settled these difficulties, and made way with his 
enemies, Sulla, still consul, embarked with his legion for the 
East, where the presence of a Roman army was imperatively 
needed. But before he left, he extorted a solemn oath from 
Cinna, consul elect, that he would attempt no alteration in 
the recent changes which had been made. Cinna took the 
oath, but Sulla had scarcely left before he created, new 
disturbances. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

THE MITHRIDATIO AND CIVIL WARS. ^MABIUS AND SULLA. 

There reigned at this time in Pontus, the northeastern 
State of Asia Minor, bordered on the south by Cappadocia, on 
the east by Armenia, and the north by the Euxine, a power- 
ful prince, Mithridates VI., surnamed Eupator, who traced 
an unbroken lineage to Darius, the son of the Hystaspes, and 
also to the Seleucidse. He was a great eastern hero, whose 
deeds excited the admiration of his age. He could, on foot, 
overtake the swiftest deer; he accomplished journeys on 
horseback of one hundred and twenty miles a day ; he drove 
sixteen horses in hand at the chariot races ; he never missed 
his aim in hunting ; he drank his boon companions under 
the table ; he had as many mistresses as Solomon ; he was 
fond of music and poetry ; he collected precious works of 
art ; he had philosophers and poets in his train ; he was tlie 
greatest jester and wit of his court. His activity was 
boundless ; he learned the antidotes for all poisons ; he 
administered justice in twenty-two languages ; and yet he 
was coarse, tyrannical, cruel, superstitious, and unscrupulous. 
Such was this extraordinary man who led the great reaction 
of the Asiatics against the Occidentals. 

The resources of this Oriental kinq; were immense, since 
he bore rule over the shores of the Euxine to the interior of 
Asia Minor. His field for recruits to his armies 
stretched from the mouth of the Danube to the 
Caspian Sea. Thracians, Scythians, Colchians, Iberians, 
crowded under his banners. When he marched into Cappa- 
docia, he had six hundred scythed chariots, ten thousand 
horse, and eighty thousand foot. A series of aggressions and 



Chap. xxxiiL] Mithridates, 431 

conquests made this monarch the greatest and most formida- 
ble Eastern foe the Romans ever encountered. The Romans, 
engrossed with the war with the Cimbri and the insurrection 
of their Italian subjects, allowed his empire to be silently 
ao^randized. 

The Roman Senate, at last, disturbed and jealous, sent 
Lucius Sulla to Cappadocia with a handful of troops to 
defend its interests. On his return, Mithridates continued 
his aggressions, and formed an alliance with his 
father-in-law, Tigranes, king of Armenia, but °'''^"^^- 
avoided a direct encounter with the great Occidental power 
which had conquered the world. Things continued for 
awhile between war and peace, but, at last, it was evident 
that only war could prevent the aggrandizement of Mithri^ 
dates, and it was resolved upon by the Romans. 

The king of Pontus made immense preparations to resist 
his powerful' enemies. He streno-thened his alii- Preparations 

• 1 m- -r-r -. , of Mithri- 

ance with ligranes. He made overtures to the dates. 
Greek cities. He attempted to excite a revolt in Thrace, in 
Numidia, and in Syria. He encouraged pirates on the Med- 
iterranean. He organized a foreign corps after the Roman 
fashion, and took the field with two hundred and fifty thou- 
sand infantry and forty thousand cavalry — the largest army 
seen since the Persian wars. He then occupied Asia Minor, 
and the Roman generals retreated as he advanced. He made 
Ephesus his head-quarters, and issued orders to all the gov- 
ernors dependent upon him to massacre, on the same day, 
all Italians, free or enslaved — men, women, and children, 
found in their cities. One hundred and fifty thousand were 
thus barbarously slaughtered in one day. The States of 
Cappadocia, Sinope, Phrygia, and Bithynia were organized 
as Pontic satrapies. The confiscation of the property of the 
murdered Italians replenished his treasury, as well as the 
contributions of Asia Minor. He not only occupied the 
Asiatic provinces of the Romans, but meditated the p^^^^ ^^ 
invasion of Europe. Thrace and Macedonia were Mithridates. 
occupied by his armies, and his fleet appeared in the JEgean 



432 Mithridatio and Civil Wars. [Chap. xxxiii. 

Sea. Delos, the emporium of Roman commerce, was taken, 
and twenty thousand Italians massacred. Most of the small 
free States of Greece entered into alliance with Jiim — the 
Achseans, Laconians, and Boeotians. So commanding was 
his position, that an embassy of Italian insurgents invited him 
to land in Italy. 

The position of the Koman government was critical. Asia 
Minor, Hellas, and Macedonia were in the hands of Mithri- 
dates, while his fleet sailed without a rival. The Italian 
insurrection was not subdued, and political parties divided 
the capital. 

At this crisis Sulla landed on the coast of Epirus, but with 
Sulla lands ^^ army of only thirty thousand men, and without 
in Epirus. g^ single vcsscl of War. He landed with an empty 
military chest. But he was a second Alexander — the greatest 
general that Rome had yet produced. He soon made him- 
self master of Greece, with the exception of the fortresses of 
Athens and the Piraeus, into which the generals of Mithri- 
dates had thrown themselves. He intrenched himself at 
Bie'^eof Eleusis and Megara, from which he commanded 
Athens. Grcccc and the Peloponnesus, and commenced the 
siege of Athens. This was attended with great difficulties, 
and the city only fell, after a protracted defense, when pro- 
visions were exhausted. The conqueror, after allowing his 
soldiers to pillage the city, gave back her liberties, in honor 
of her illustrious dead. 

But a year was wasted, and without ships it was impossi- 
Suiia de- ^^^ ^'^^ Sulla to sccure his communications., He 
posed. ggj^^ Qjjg q£ jjjg ]^^g^ officers, Lucullus, to Alexan- 

dria, to raise a fleet, but the Egyptian court evaded the 
request. To add to his embarrassments, the Roman general 
was without money, although he had rifled the treasures 
which still remained in the Grecian temples. Moreover, 
what was still more serious, a revolution at Rome overturned 
his work, and he had been deposed, and his Asiatic command 
given to M. Valerius Flaccus. 

Sulla was unexpectedly relieved by the resolution of 



Chap, xxxiil] Successes of Sulla, 433 

Mithridates to cany on the offensive in Greece. Taxiles, 
one of the lieutenants of the Pontic king, was sent to com- 
bat Sulla with an army of one hundred thousand infantry 
and ten thousand cavalry. 

Then was fought the battle of Ch^ronea, b. c. 86, ao-ainst 
the advice of Archelaus, in which the Romans \2\e 
were the victors. But Sulla could not reap the c^«^ionea. 
fruits of victory without a fleet, since the sea was covered 
with Pontic ships. In the following year a second army was 
sent mto Greece by Mithridates, and the Romans and 
Asiatics met once more in the plain of the Cephissus, near 
Orchomenus. The Romans were the victors, who speedily 
cleared the European continent of its eastern invaders At 
the end of the third year of the war, Sulla took up his 
winter quarters in Thessaly, and commenced to build ships 
Meanwhile a reaction against Mithridates took place in 
Asia Mmor. His rule was found to be more Revolt of 
oppressive than that of the Romans. The great mSS^ 
mercantile cities of Smyrna, Colophon, Ephesus, and Sardis 
were m revolt, and closed their gates against his governors, 
Ihe Hellenic cities of Asia Minor had hoped to gain civil 
independence and a remission of taxes, and were disap- 
pomted. And those cities which were supposed to be 
secretly m favor of the Romans were heavily fined The 
Chians were compelled to pay two thousand talents. Great 
cruelties were also added to fines and confiscations. Lucul- 
lus, unable to obtain the help of an Alexandrian fleet, was 
more fortunate in the Syrian ports, and soon was able to 
commence offensive operations. Flaccus, too, had arrived 
with a Roman army, but this incapable general was put to 
death by a mob-orator. Fimbria, more able than he, who 
defeated a Pontic army at Miletopolis. The situation of 
Mithridates then became perilous. Europe was lost; Asia 
Minor was in rebellion; and Roman armies were pressincr 
upon him. ^ '=' 

He therefore negotiated for peace. Sulla required the 
restoration of all the conquests he had made: Cappadocia 
28 rr » 



434 Mithridatio and Civil Wars, [Chap. xxxiii. 

Paphlagonia, Galatia, Bithynia, the Hellenic cities, the 
^T- ,. ,. islands of the sea, and a contribution of three thou- 
for peace. sand talents. These conditions were not accepted, 
and Sulla proceeded to Asia, upon which Mithridates re- 
luctantly acceded to his terms. 

Sulla then turned against Fimbria, who commanded the 
Roman army sent to supplant him, which, as was to be 
expected, deserted to his standard. Fimbria fled to Perga- 
mus, and fell on his own sword. Sulla intrusted the two 
legions which had been sent from Rome under Flaccus to the 
command of his best officer, Murena, and turned his attention 
to arrange the affairs of Asia. He levied contributions to 
Siiiia, the amount of twenty thousand talents, reduced 

returns to -mr-i'T i i r- t i« - ^ ^ 

Italy. Mithridates to the rank of a client king, richly 

compensated his soldiers, and embarked for Italy, leaving 
Lucullus behind to collect the contributions. 

Thus was the Mithridatic war ended by the genius of a 
Roman general, who had no equal in Roman history, with the 
exception of Pompey and Julius Cgesar. He had distin- 
His reat- guishcd liimsclf in Africa, in Spain, in Italy, and 
ness. in Greece. He had defeated the barbarians of the 

West, the old Italian foes of Rome, and the armies of the 
most powerful Oriental monarch since the fall of Persia. He 
had triumphed over Roman factions, and supplanted the 
great Marius himself. He was now to contend with one 
more able foe, Lucius Coruelius Cinna, who represented 
the revolutionary forces which had rallied under 

Cinna. . *^ . 

the Gracchi and Marius — the democratic elements 
of Roman society. 

When Sulla embarked for the Mithridatic war, Cinna, 
suj^ported by a majority of the College of Tribunes, concerted 
a reaction against the rule which Sulla had re-established — 
the rule of the aristocracy. But Cinna, a mere tool of the 
revolutionary party, — a man without ability, — was driven out 
of the city by the aristocratic party, and outlawed, and L. 
Cornelia Mesula was made consul in his stead. The outlaws 
fled to the camp before Nola. The Campanian army, demo- 



Chap, xxxiii.] Cinna and Sulla. 435 

cratic and revolutionary, recognized Cinna as the leader of 
the republic. Caius Marius, then an exile in J^umidia, 
brought six thousand men, whom he had rallied to his stand- 
ard, to the disposal of the consul, and was placed by Cinna 
in supreme command at Etruria. A storm gathered around 
the capital. Cinna was overshadowed by the greatness of 
that plebeian general who had defeated the Cimbrians, and 
who was bent upon revenge for the mortification and insults 
he had received from the Roman aristocracy. Famine and 
desertion soon made the city indefensible, and Home capitu- 
lated to an army of her own citizens. 

Marius, now master of Rome, entered the city, and a reign 
of terror commenced. The gates were closed, and the 
slaughter of the aristocratic party commenced. 
The consul Octavius was the first victim, and with 
him the most illustrious of his party. The executioners of 
Marius fulfilled his orders, and his revenge was complete. 
He entered upon a new consulate, execrated by all the lead- 
ing citizens. But in the midst of his victories he was seized 
with a burning fever, and died in agonies, at the age of seventy, 
in the full possession of honor and power. Cinna succeeded 
him in the consulship, and Rome was under the „ 

■*• ' Success of 

government of a detested tyrant. For four years Cinna. 
his reign was absolute, and was a reign of terror, during 
which the senators were struck down, as the French nobles 
were in the time of Robespierre. Cinna, like Robespierre^ 
reigned with the mightiest plenitude of power, united with, 
incapacity. 

In this state of anarchy Sulla's wife and children escapedl 
with difficulty, and Sulla himself was deprived of his com- 
mand against Mithridates. But Cinna, B. c. 84, was killed 
in a mutiny, and the command of the revolutionists devolved 
on Carbo. The situation of Sulla was critical, even at the 
head of his veteran forces. In the spring of the year follow- 
ing the death of Cinna, he landed in Brundusium, where he 
was re-enforced by partisans and deserters. The Senate made 
advances to Sulla, and many patricians joined his ranks, 



436 Mithridatio and Civil Wars. [Chap. xxxiir. 

including Cneius Pompeius, then twenty-three years of 
age. 

Civil war was now inaugurated between Sulla and the 
revolutionary party, at the head of which were now the con- 
Suiiaend ^^^-^ Carbo and the younger Marius. Carbo was 
.the war. charged with Upper Italy, while Marius guarded 
Kome at the fortress of Prseneste. At Sacriportus Sulla de- 
feated Marius, and entered Rome. But the insurgent 
Italians united with the revolutionary forces of Rome, and 
seventy thousand Samnites and Lucanians approached the 
capital. At the Colline gate a battle was fought, in which 
Sulla was victorious. This ended the Social war, and the 
subjugation of the revolutionists soon followed. 

Sulla was now made dictator, and the ten years of revolu- 
tion and insurrection were at an end in both West and East. 
Absolute The first use which Sulla made of his absolute 
BuTia!^^ power was to outlaw all his enemies. Lists of the 
proscribed were posted at Rome and in the Italian cities. 
It was a fearful visitation. A second reign of terror took 
place, more fearful and systematic than that of Marius. 
Four thousand seven hundred persons were slaughtered, 
among whom were forty senators, and one thousand six hun- 
dred equites. 

The next year Sulla celebrated his magnificent triumph 

over Mithridates, and was saluted by the name of Felix. 

The despotism at which the Gracchi were accused 

triumphs. of aiming was introduced by a military conqueror, 

aided by the aristocracy. 

Sulla then devoted himself to the reorganization of the 
State. He conferred citizenship upon all the Ital- 
ians but freedmen, and bestowed the sequestered 
estates of those who had taken side against him on his sol- 
diers. The office of judices was restored to the Senate, and 
the equites were deprived of their separate seats at festivals. 
The Senate was restored to its ancient dignity and power, 
and three hundred new members appointed. The number of 
praetors was increased to eight. -The government still rested 



Chap, xxxin.] The Cornelian Laws. 437 

on the basis of popular election, but was made more aristo- 
cratic than before. The Comitia Centuriata was left in pos- 
session of the nominal power of legislation, but it ^^^ ^^^^^ 
could only be exercised upon the initiation of a ofSuUa. 
decree of the Senate. The Comitia Tributa was stripped of 
the powers by which it had so long controlled the Senate 
and the State. Tribunes of the people were selected from 
the Senate. The College of Pontiffs was no longer filled by 
popular election, but by the choice of their own members. 
A new criminal code was made, and the several courts were 
presided over by the praetors. Such, in substance, were the 
Cornelian laws to restore the old powers of the aristocracy. 

Having effected this labor, Sulla, in the plenitude of 
power, retired into private life. He retired, not like Charles 
v., wearied of the toils of war, and disgusted with jjjg ^.e^jye. 
the vanity of glory and fame, nor like Washington, ™^°t- 
from lofty patriotic motives, but to bury himself in epicurean 
pleasures. In the luxury of his Cumsean villa he divided his 
time between hunting and fishing, and the enjoyments of 
literature, until, worn out with sensuality, he died in liis six- 
tieth year, b. c. '78. A grand procession of the Senate he had 
saved, the equites, the magistrates, the vestal virgins, and 
his disbanded soldiers, bore his body to the funeral pyre, and 
his ashes were deposited beside the tombs of the kings. A 
splendid monument was raised to his memory, on which was 
inscribed his own epitaph, that no friend ever did him a 
kindness, and no enemy a wrong, without receiving a full 
requital. 



CHAPTEE XXXIV. 

EOME FKOM THE DEATH OF SULLA TO THE GREAT CIVIL 
WARS OF C^SAR AND POMPEY. — CICERO, POMPET, AND 

C^SAR. 

On the death of Sulla, the Roman government was once 
more in the hands of the aristocracy, and for several years 
the consuls were elected from the great ruling families. 
But, in spite of all the conquests of Sulla and all his laws, 
the State was tumbling into anarchy, and was convulsed with 
fresh wars. 

Sulla was alive when M. Lepidus came forward as the 
Reaction in leader of the democratic partv aorainst C. Lutatius 

favor of the ^ r j & 

aristocracy. Catulus — a man without character or ability, who 
had deserted from the optimates to the popular party, to 
escape prosecution for the plunder of Sicily. The fortune 
he acquired in his government of that province enabled 
Lepidus to secure his election as consul, b. c. 78, and he even 
attempted to deprive Sulla of his funeral honors. A con- 
spiracy was organized in Etruria, where the Sullan confisca- 
tion had been most severe. Lepidus came forward as an 
aveno-er of the old Romans whose fortunes had been ruined. 
The Senate, fearing convulsions, made Lepidus and Catulus, 
the consuls, swear not to take up arms against each 
other ; but at the expiration of the consulship of Lepidus, 
he went, as was usual, to the province assigned to him. 
This was Gaul, and here the war first broke out. An 
attempt on Rome was frustrated by Catulus, who defeated 
Lepidus, and the latter soon died in Sardinia, whither he 
had retired. 

Sertorius was then in command of the army in Spain, — a 



Chap. XXXIV.] Pomjpey. 439 

man who had risen from an obscure position, but who pos- 
sessed the hardy virtues of the old Sabine farmers. He 
served under Marius in Gaul, and was praetor when 

/-. T J- • Sertorius. 

Sulla returned to Italy. When the cause oi Marius 
was lost in Africa, he organized a resistance to Sulla in 
Sp.dn. His army was re-enforced by Marian refugees, and he 
was aided by the Iberian tribes, among whom he was a 
favorite. For eight years this celebrated hero baffled the 
armies which Rome, under the lead of the aristocracy, sent 
a2:ainst him, for he undertook to I'estore the cause of the 
democracy. 

Against Sertorius was sent the man who, next to Csesar, 
was destined to play the most important part in the history 
of those times— Cn. Pompeius, born the same 
year as Oicero, b. c. IOC, who had enlisted m the 
cause of Sulla, and early distinguished himself against the 
generals of Marius. He gained great successes in Sicily and 
Africa, and was, on his return to Rome, saluted by the dic- 
tator Sulla himself with the name oi Magnus, which title he 
ever afterward bore. He was then a simple equestrian, and 
had not risen to the rank of quaestor, or praetor, or consul. 
Yet he had, at the early age of twenty-four, without en- 
joying any curule office, the honor of a triumph, even 
against the opposition of Sulla. 

Pompey was sent to Spain with the title of proconsul, and 
with an army of thirty thousand men. He crossed the Alps 
between the sources of the Rhone and Po, and advanced to 
the southern coast of Spain. Here he was met by Sertorius, 
and at first was worsted. I need not detail the varied events 
of this war in Spain. The Spaniards at length grew weary 
of a contest which was not to their benefit, but whicli was 
carried on in behalf of rival factions at the capital. Dissen- 
sions broke out among the officers of Sertorius, and he was 
killed at a banquet by Perpenna, his lieutenant. ^^ x, » 
On the death of the only man capable of resisting Sertorius. 
the aristocracy of Rome, and whose virtues were worthy oif 
the ancient heroes, the progress of Pompey was easy. Per- 



440 Cicero^ Pomjpey^ and Cmar. [Chap, xxxiv. 

penna was taken prisoner and his army was dispersed, and 
Spain was reduce^d to obedience. 

In the mean time, while Pompey was fighting Sertorius in 
Spain, a servile war broke out in Italy, produced 
in part by the immense demand of slaves for the 
gladiatorial shows. One of these slaves, Spartacus, once a 
Thracian captain of banditti, escaped with seventy comrades 
to the crater of Vesuvius, and organized an insurrection, 
and he was soon at the head of one hundred thousand of 
those wretched captives whose condition was unendurable. 
Italy was ravaged from the Alps to the Straits of Messina. 
No Roman general, then in Italy, was equal to the task of 
subduing them. But, in the second year of the war, Crassus, 
who was a great proprietor of slaves, and who had ably 
served under Sulla, undertook the task of subduing the 
insurrectionary slaves. With six legions he drove them to 
the extremity of the Bruttian peninsula, and shut them up in 
Rhegium by strong lines of circumvallation. Spartacus was 
killed, after having broken through the lines, and most of his 
followers were destroyed; but six thousand escaped into 
Cisalpine Gaul, as the northern part of Italy was then called, 
and met Pompey on his victorious return from Spain, by 
whom they were utterly annihilated. Pompey claimed the 
merit of ending the servile war, and sought the honor of 
the consulship, although ineligible. Crassus, also ineligible, 
also demanded the consulship, and both these lieutenants of 
Sulla obtained their ends. But both, in order to obtain the 
consulship, made great promises. Pompey, in 
ompey. particular, promised to restore the tribunitian 
power. Pompey now broke with the aristocracy, whose 
champion he had been, and even carried another law by 
which the judices were taken from the equites as well as 
the Senate. Thus was the constitution of Sulla subverted 
within ten years. In this movement Pompey was supported 
by Julius Caesar, who was a young man of thirty years 
of age. 

On the expiration of his consulship, Pompey remained 



Chap. XXXIV.] The Pirates, , 441 

inactive, refusing a province, until the troubles with the 
Mediterranean pirates again called him into active 
military service. These pirates swarmed on every 
coast, plundering cities, and cutting off communication be- 
tween Rome and the provinces. They especially attacked 
the corn vessels, so that the price of provisions rose inordi- 
nately. The people, in distress, turned their eyes to Pom- 
pey ; but he was not willing to accept any ordinary command, 
and through his intrigues, his tool, the tribune Gabinius, 
proposed that the people should elect a man for this service 
of consular rank, who should have absolute power for three 
years over the whole of the Mediterranean, and to a distance 
of fifty miles inward from the coast, and who should com- 
mand a fleet of two hundred ships. He did not name Pom- 
pey, but everybody knew who was meant. The people, 
furious at the price of corn, and full of admiration for the 
victories of Pompey, were ready to appoint him; the Senate, 
alarmed and jealous, was equally determined to prevent his 
appointment. Tumults and riots were the consequence. 
Pompey affected to desire some other person for the com- 
mand but himself; but the law passed, in spite of Great power 
the opposition of the Senate, and Pompey was Pompey. 
commissioned to prepare five hundred ships, enlist one hun- 
dred and twenty thousand sailors and soldiers, and also to 
take from the public treasury whatever sum he needed. 

In the following spring his preparations were made, and in 
forty days he cleared the western half of the Mediterranean 
from the pirates, and drove them to the Cilician coast. Here 
he gained a great victory over their united fleets, and took 
twenty thousand prisoners, whom he settled at various points 
on the coasts, and returned home in forty-nine days after 
he had sailed from Brundusium. In less than three months 
he had ended the war. 

This great success led to his command against Mithridates, 
who had ao-ain rallied his forces for one more de- Eenewai of 

-, T 1 • -I 1 T-. hostilities in 

cisive and desperate struggle with the Komans. the East. 
Asia rallied against Europe, as Europe rallied against Asia 



442 Olcero, Porrvpey^ and Cwsar. [Chap, xxxiv. 

in the crusades. Mithridates, after his defeat by Sulla, had 
retired to Armenia to the court of his son-in-law, Tigranes, 
whose power was greater than that of any other Oriental 
potentate. Tigranes was not at jfirst inclined to break with 
Rome, but (b. c. 70) he consented to the war, which continued 
for seven years without decisive results. The Romans were 
commanded by Lucullus, the old lieutenant of 
Sulla, and although his labors were not appreciated 
at Rome, he broke really the power of Mithridates. But, 
through the intrigues of Pompey and his friends, he was re- 
called, and Pompey was commissioned, with the extraordi- 
nary power of unlimited control of the Eastern army and fleet, 
and the rights of proconsul over the whole of Asia, He 
already had the dominion of the Mediterranean. The Senate 
opposed this dangerous precedent, but it was carried by the 
people, who could not heap too many honors on their favor- 
ite, Cicero, then forty years of age, with Caesar, supported 
the measure, which was opposed by Hortensius and Catulus, 
Lucullus retired to his luxurious villa to squander the 
riches he had accumulated in Asia, and to study 
the academic philosophy, while Pompey pursued 
his conquests in the East over foes already broken and hu- 
miliated. He showed considerable ability, and drove Mithri- 
dates from post to post in the heart of his dominion. The 
Eastern monarch made overtures of peace, which were re- 
jected. Nothing but unconditional surrender would be 
accepted. His army was finally cut to pieces, and the old 
man escaped only with a few horsemen. Rejected by Ti- 
granes, he made his way to the Cimmerian Bosphorus, which 
was his last retreat. Pompey then turned his attention to 
Armenia, and Tigranes threw himself upon his mercy, at the 
cost of all his territories but Armenia Proper. Pompey then 
Defeat of resumed the pursuit of Mithridates, fighting his 
Mithridates. ^y^ij through the mountains of Iberia and Albania, 
but he did not pursue his foe over the Caucasus. Mithri- 
dates, secure in the Crimea, then planned a daring attempt 
on Rome herself, which was to march round the Euxine and 



Chap XXXIV.] Victories of Pompey. 443 

up the Danube, collecting in his train the Sarmatians, Gsetse, 
and other barbarians, cross the Alps, and descend upon Italy. 
Sis kingdom of Pontus was already lost, and had been made 
a Roman province. His followers, however, became "disaf- 
fected, his son Pharnaces rebelled, and he had no other rem- 
edy than suicide to escape capture. He died b. c. 

r. . ^r»..i ' ^ ' His death. 

63, atter a reign oi nity-three years, in the sixty- 
ninth year of his age — the greatest Eastern prince since 
Cyrus. Racine has painted him in one of his dramas as one 
of the most heroic men of the world. But it was his misfor- 
tune to contend with Rome in the plenitude of her power. 

Pompey, before the death of Mithridates, went to Syria 
to regulate its affairs, it being ceded to Rome by pompey in 
Tigranes. After the defeat of Tigranes by Lucullus, ^^"^* 
that kingdom, however, had been recovered by Antiochus 
Xni., the last of the Seleucidse, who held a doubtful sove- 
reignty. He was, however, reduced by a legate of Pompey, 
and. Syria became a Roman province. The next year, Pom- 
pey advanced south, and established, the Roman supremacy 
in Phoenicia and Palestine, the latter country being the seat 
of civil war between Hyrcanus and Aristobulus. It was 
then that Jerusalem was taken by the Roman general, after 
a siege of three months, and the conqueror entered the most 
sacred precincts of the temple, to the horror of the priest- 
hood. He established Hyrcanus as high priest, as has been 
already related, and then retired to Pontus, settled its affairs, 
and departed with his army for Italy, having^ won 

. f. . . - -^ ' - ^.^ His victories. 

a succession oi victories never equaled m the iiast, 

except by Alexander. And never did victories receive such 

great eclat, which, however, were easily won, as those of 

Alexander had been. No Asiatic foe was a match for either 

Greeks or Romans in the field. The real difficulties were in 

marches, in penetrating mountain passes, in crossing arid 

plains. 

But before the conqueror of Asia received the reward of his 
great services to the State — the most splendid 
triumph which had as yet been seen on the Via 



444 Cicero^ Pompey^ and CcBsar, [Chap, xxxiv. 

Sacra — Rome was brought to the verge of ruin by the con- 
spiracy of Catiline. The departure of Pompey to punish the 
pirates of the Mediterranean and conquer Mithridates, left 
the field clear to the two greatest men of their age, Cicero 
and Caesar. It was while Cicero was consul that the con- 
spiracy was detected. 

Marcus Tullius Cicero, the most accomplished man, on the 
whole, in Roman annals, and as immortal as Caesar 

Cicero. -i ' ^n '\ a • r> 

himseir, was born B.C. 106, near Arpmum, oi an 
equestrian, but not senatorial family. He received a good 
education, received the manly gown at sixteen, and entered 
the forum to hear the debates, but jDursued his studies with 
great assiduity. He was intrusted by his wealthy father to 
the care of the augur, Q. Mucins Scsevola, an old lawyer 
deeply read in the constitution of his country and the princi- 
ples of jurisprudence. At eighteen he served his first and 
only campaign under the father of the great Pompey, in the 
social war. He was twenty-four before he made a figure in 
the eye of the public, keeping aloof from the fierce struggles 
of Marius and Sulla, identifying himself with neither party, 
and devoted only to the cultivation of his mind, studying 
philosophy and rhetoric as well as law, traveling over Sicily 
and Greece, and preparing himself for a forensic orator. At 
twenty-five he appeared in the forum as a public pleader, 
and boldly defended the oppressed and injured, and even 
braved the anger of Sulla, then all-powerful as dictator. At 
twenty-seven he again repaired to Athens for greater culture 
and extensively traveled in Asia Minor, holding converse 
with the most eminent scholars and philosophers in the 
Grecian cities. At twenty-nine he returned to Rome, im- 
proved in health as well as in those arts which contributed 
to his unrivaled fame as an orator — a rival with Hortensius 
and Cotta, the leaders of the Roman bar. At thirty he was 
^elected quaestor, not, as was usually the case, by family in- 
terest, but from his great reputation as a lawyer. The duties 
•of his office called him to Sicily, under the praetor of Lily- 
bseum, which he admirably discharged, showing not only 



Chap, xxxiv.] Trial of Verres, 445 

executive ability, but rare virtue and impartiality. The 
vanity which dimmed the lustre of his glorious name, and 
which he never exorcised, received a severe wound on his 
return to Italy. He imagined he was the observed of all 
observers, but soon discovered that his gay and fashionable 
friends were ignorant, not only of what he had done iu Sicily, 
but of his administration at all. 

For the next four years he was absorbed in private stud- 
ies, and in the courts of law, at the end of which he became 
sedile, the year that Verres was impeached for 
misgovernment in Sicily. This was the most 
celebrated State trial for impeachment on record, with the 
exception, perhaps, of that of Warren Hastiiags. But Cicero, 
who was the public accuser and prosecutor, was more fortu- 
nate than Burke. He collected such an overwhelmino- mass 
of evidence against this corrupt governor, that he went into 
exile without making a defense, although defended by Hor- 
tensius, consul elect. The speech which the orator teas to 
have made at the trial was subsequently published by Cicero, 
and is one of the most eloquent tirades against public cor- 
ruption ever composed or uttered. 

E'othing of especial interest marked the career of this great 
man for three more years, until b. c. 67 he was pubiic career 
elected first praetor, or supreme judge, an office for ^^ Cicero. 
which he was supremely qualified. But it was not merely 
civic cases which he decided. He appeared as a political 
speaker, and delivered from the rostrum his celebrated speech 
on the Manilian laws, maintaining the cause of Pompev when 
he departed from the policy of the aristocracy. He had now 
gained by pure merit, in a corrupt age, without family influ- 
ence, the highest offices of the State, even as Burke became 
the leader of the House of Commons without aristocratic 
connections, and now naturally aspired to the consulship, — 
the great prize which every ambitious man sought, but 
which, in the aristocratic age of Roman history, was rarely 
conferred except on members of the ruling houses, or very emi- 
nent success in war. By the friendship of Pompe}^, and also 



446 Cicero^ Pomjpey^ and Ccesar, [Chap, xxxiv. 

from the general admiration which his splendid talents and 
attainments commanded, this great prize was also secured. 
He had six illustrious competitors, among whom were Anto- 
nius and Catiline, who were assisted by Crassus and CsBsar. 
As consul, all the energies of his mind and character were 
Cicero as absorbed in baffling the treason of this eminent 
consul. patrician demagogue. L. Sergius Catiline was 

one of those Avicked, unscrupulous, intriguing, popular, aban- 
doned and intellectual scoundrels that a corrupt 

Catiline. . . • , n -, -, p 

age and patrician misrule brought to the suriace 
of society, aided by the degenerate nobles to whose class he 
belonged. In the bitterness of his political disappointments, 
headed off by Cicero at every turn, he meditated the com- 
plete overthrow of the Roman constitution, and his own 
elevation as chief of the State, and absolutely inaugurated 
rebellion. Cicero, who was in danger of assassination, boldly 
laid the conspiracy before the Senate, and secured the arrest 
of many of his chief confederates. Catiline fled and assem- 
bled his followers, who numbered twelve thousand desper- 
ate men, and fought with the courage of despair, but was 
defeated and slain. 

Had it not been for the vigilance, energy, and patriotism of 
Cicero, it is possible this atrocious conspiracy would have suc- 
ceeded. The state of society was completely demoralized ; the 
disbanded soldiers of the Eastern wars had spent their money 
and wanted spoils ; the Senate was timid and inefficient, and 
an unscrupulous and able leader, at the head of discontented 
factions, on the assassination of the consuls and the virtu- 
ous men who remained in power, might have bid defiance to 
any force which could then, in the absence of Pompey in the 
East, have been marshaled against him. 

But the State was saved, and saved by a patriotic states- 
Cicero's man, who had arisen by force of genius and charac- 
eervices. ^^^ ^^ ^^^ Supreme power. The gratitude of the 
people was unbounded. Men of all ranks hailed him as the 
savior of his country ; thanksgivings to the gods were voted 
in his name, and all Italy joined in enthusiastic praises. 



Chap, xxxtv.] JExile of Cicero. 447 

But he had now reached the culminating height of his 
political greatness, and his subsequent career was one of sor- 
row and disappointment. Intoxicated by his elevation, — for 
it was unprecedented at Rome, in his day, for a man to rise 
so high by mere force of eloquence and learning, without 
fortune, or family, or military exploits, — he became conceited 
and vain. In the civil troubles which succeeded the return 
of Pompey, he was banished from the country he 

His fall. 

had saved, and there is nothing more pitiful than 
his lamentations and miseries while in exile. His fall was 
natural. He had opposed the demoralizing current which 
swept every thing before it. When his office of consul was 
ended, he was exposed to the hatred of the senators whom 
he had humiliated, of the equites whose unreasonable de- 
mands he had opposed, of the people w^hom he disdained to 
flatter, and of the triumvirs whose usurpation he detested. 
No one was powerful enough to screen him from these 
combined hostilities, except the very men who aimed at the 
subversion of Roman liberties, and who wished him out of 
the way ; his friend Pompey showed a mean, j^usillanimous, 
and calculatino; selfishness, and neither Crassus nor Caesar 
liked him. But in his latter days, part of which were passed 
in exile, and all without political consideration, he Accomplish- 
found time to compose those eloquent treatises on Samcter of 
almost every subject, for which his memory will be ^^<^^^^- 
held in reverence. Unlike Bacon, he committed no crime 
against the laws ; yet, like him, fell from his high estate in the 
convulsions of a revolutionary age, and as Bacon soothed his 
declining years with the charms of literature and philosophy, 
so did Cicero display in his writings the result of long years 
of study, and unfold for remotest generations the treasures of 
Greek and Roman wisdom, ornamented, too, by that exquis- 
ite style, which, of itself, would have given him immortality 
as one of the sfreat artists of the world. He lived to see 
the utter wreck of Roman liberties, and was ultimately exe- 
cuted by order of Antonius, in revenge for those bitter 
philippics which the orator had launched against him before 



448 Cicero^ Pomjpey^ and Ccesar, [Chap, xxxiv. 

the descending sun of his political glory had finally disap- 
peared in the gloom and darkness of revolutionary miseries. 

But we resume the thread of political history in those 
tangled times. Cicero was at the highest of his fame and 
power when Pompey returned from his Asiatic 
Pompey. conqucsts, the great hero of his age, on whom all 
eyes were fixed, and to whom all bent the knee of homage 
and admiration. His triumph, at the age of forty-five, was 
the grandest ever seen. It lasted two days. Three hun- 
dred and twenty-four captive princes walked before his 
triumphal car, followed by spoils and emblems of a war 
which saw the reduction of one thousand fortresses. The 
enormous sum of twenty thousand talents was added to the 
public treasury. 

Pompey was, however, greater in war than in peace. Had 
he known how to make use of his prestige and his 
His policy, advantages, he might have henceforth reigned with- 
out a rival. He was not sufiiciently noble and generous to 
live without making grave mistakes and alienating some of 
his greatest friends, nor was he sufficiently bad and unscrupu- 
lous to abuse his military supremacy. He pursued a middle 
course, envious of all talent, absorbed in his own greatness, 
vain, pompous, and vacillating. His quarrels with Crassus 
and Lucullus severed him from the aristocratic party, whose 
leader he properly was. His haughtiness and coldness alien- 
ated the afiections of the people, through whom he could 
only advance to supreme dominion. He had neither the 
arts of a demagogue, nor the magnanimity of a conqueror. 

It was at this crisis that Csesar returned from Spain as the 
conqueror of the Lusitanians. Caius Julius Csesar 
^^^^' belonged to the ancient patrician family of the 

Julii, and was born b. c. 100, and was six years younger 
than Pompey and Cicero. But he was closely connected 
with the popular party by the marriage of his aunt Julia 
with the great Marius, and his marriage with Cornelia, the 
daughter of Cinna, one of the chief opponents of Sulla. He 
early served in the army of the East, but devoted his earliest 



Chap. XXXIV.] Ccesar. 449 

years to the ai*t of oratory. His affable manners and 
unbounded liberality made him popular with the people. He 
obtained the quaestorship at thirty-two, the year he lost his 
wife, and went as quaestor to Antistius Yetus, into the pro v- 
ince of Further Spain. On his return, the following year, he 
married Pompeia, the granddaughter of Sulla, of the Corne- 
lia gens, and formed a union with Pompey. By his family 
connections he obtained the curule gedileship at the age of 
thirty-five, and surpassed his predecessors in the extrava- 
gance of his shows and entertainments, the money for which 
he borrowed. At thirty-seven he was elected Pontifex Max- 
imus, so great was his popularity, and the following year he 
obtained the prsetorship, b. c. 62, and on the expiration of 
his office he obtained the province of Further Spain. His 
debts were so enormous that he applied for aid to Crassus, 
the richest man in Rome, and readily obtained the loan he 
sought. In Spain, with an army at his command, he gained 
brilliant victories over the Lusitanians, and returned to 
Rome enriched, and sought the consulship. To obtain this, 
he relinquished the customary triumph, and, with the aid of 
Pompey, secured his election, and entered into that close 
alliance with Pompey and Crassus which historians call the 
first triumvirate. It was merely a private agreement 
between the three most powerful men of Rome to support 
each other, and not a distinct magistracy. 

As consul, Caesar threw his influence against the aristoc- 
racy, to whose ranks he belonged, both by birth The consui- 
and office, and caused an agrarian law to be Cassar. 
passed, against the fiercest opposition of the Senate, by which 
the rich Campanian lands were divided for the benefit of 
the poorest citizens — a good measure, perhaps, but which 
brought him forward as the champion of the people. He 
next gained over the equites, by relieving them, by a law 
which he caused to be passed, of one-third of the sum they 
had agreed to pay for the farming of the taxes of Asia. Ho 
secured the favor of Pompey by causing all his acts in the 
East to be confirmed. At the expiration of his consulship he 

29 



450 Cicero^ Pomjpey^ and Coesar. [Chap, xxxiv. 

obtained the province of Gaul, as the fullest field foi* the 
development of his military talents, and the surest way to 
climb to subsequent greatness. At this period Cicero went 
into exile without waiting for his trial — that miserable 
period made memorable for aristocratic broils and intrigues, 
and when Clodius, a reckless young noble, entered into the 
house of the Pontifex Maximus, disguised as a woman, in 
pursuit of a vile intrigue with Caesar's wife. 

The succeeding nine years of Caesar's life were occupied 
by the subjugation of Gaul. In the first campaign he sub- 
dued the Helvetii, and conquered Ariovistus, a poAverful 
German chieftain. In the second campaign he opposed a 
confederation of Belgic tribes — the most warlike of all the 
Gauls, who had collected a force of three hundred thousand 
men, and signally defeated them, for which victories the Sen- 
ate decreed a public thanksgiving of fifteen days. That given 
CEesarin ^^ Pompey's honor, after the Mithridatic war, had 
^^^^' lasted but ten. At this time he made a renewed 

compact with Pompey and Crassus, by which Pompey was 
to have the two Spains for his province, Crassus that of 
Syria, and he himself should have a prolonged government 
in Gaul for five years more. The combined influence of 
these men was enough to secure the elections, and the year 
following Crassus and Pompey were made consuls. Caesar 
had to resist powerful confederations of the Gauls, and in 
order to strike terror among them, in the fourth year of the 
war, invaded Britain. But I can not describe the various 
campaigns of Caesar in Gaul and Britain without going into 
details hard to be understood — his brilliant victories over 
enemies of vastly greater numbers, his marchings and 
countermarchings, his difiiculties and dangers, his inventive 
genius, his strategic talents, his boundless resources, his 
command over his soldiers and their idolatry, until, after 
nine years, Gaul was subdued and added to the Roman 
provinces. During his long absence from Rome his interests 
were guarded by the tribune Curio, and Marcus Antonius, 
the future triumvir. During this time Crassus had inglori- 



Chap. XXXIV.] Cmar, 451 

ously conducted a distant war in Parthia, in quest of fame 
and riches, and was killed by an unknown hand after a dis- 
graceful defeat. This avaricious patrician must not be con- 
founded with the celebrated orator, of a preceding age, who 
was so celebrated for his elegance and luxury. 

Affairs at Rome had also taken a turn which indicated a 
rupture between Caesar and Pompey, now left, by the death of 
Crassus, at the head of the State. The brilliant victories of 
the former in Gaul were in everybody's mouth, and the fame 
of the latter was being eclipsed. A serious rivalry between 
these great generals began to show itself The disturbances 
which also broke out on the death of Clodius led to the 
appointment of Pompey as sole consul, and all his acts as 
consul tended to consolidate his power. His government in 
Spain was prolonged for five years more ; he entered into 
closer connections with the . aristocracy, and prepared for a 
rupture with his great rival, which had now become inevita- 
ble, as both aimed to supreme power. That struggle is now 
to be presented in the following chapter. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

THE CIVIL TVAES BETWEEN C^SAK AND POMPEY. 

The condition of Rome when Caesar returned, crowned 
with glory, from his Gallic campaign, in which he had dis- 
Power of played the most consummate ability, was misera- 
Pompe^y. ble cnough. The constitution had been assailed by 
all the leading chieftains, and even Cicero could only give 
vent to his despair and indignation in impotent lamentations. 
The cau&e of liberty was already lost. Csesar had obtained 
the province of Gaul for ten years, against all former prece- 
dent, and Pompey had obtained the extension of his imperium 
for five additional years. Both these generals thus had 
armies and an independent command for a period which 
might be called indefinite — that is, as long as they could 
maintain their authority in a period of anarchy. Rome was 
disgraced by tumults and assassinations ; worthless people 
secured the highest offices, and were the tools of the two 
great generals, who divided between them the empire of the 
world. All family ties between these two generals were 
destroyed by the death of Julia. The feud between Clo- 
dius and Milo, the one a candidate for the praetorship, and 
the other for the consulship, was most disgraceful, in the 
course of which Clodius was slain. Each wanted an office 
as the means of defraying enormous debts. Pompey, called 
upon by the Senate to relieve the State from anarchy, was 
made sole consul — another unprecedented thing. The trial 
of Milo showed that Pompey was the absolute master at 
Rome, and it was his study to maintain his position against 
Caesar. 

It was plain that the world could not have two absolute 



Chap. XXXV.] Corruption of Roman Society. 453 

masters, for both Pompey and Caesar aspired to universal 
sovereignty. One must succumb to the other — be either anvil 
or hammer. Neither would have been safe without their 
armies and their armed followers. And if both were de- 
stroyed, the State would still be convulsed with p^j^j^^g^jj 
factions. All true constitutional liberty was at an ^etween 

•' Caesar and 

end, for both generals and demagogues could get I'ompey- 
such laws passed as they pleased, with sufficient money to bribe 
those who controlled the elections. It was a time of universal 
corruption and venality. Money was the mainspring of soci- 
ety. Public virtue had passed away,— all elevated sentiment, 
— all patriotism, — all self-sacrifice. The people cared but little 
who ruled, if they were supplied with corn and wine at nom- 
inal prices. Patrician nobles had become demagogues, and 
demagogues had power in proportion to their abil- Deplorable 
ity or inclination to please the people. Cicero iic affairs. 
despaired of the State, and devoted himself to literature. 
There yet remained the aristocratic party, which had wealth 
and prestige and power, and the popular party, which aimed 
to take these privileges away, but which was ruled by dema- 
gogues more unprincipled than the old nobility. Pompey 
represented the one, and Caesar the other, though both were 
nobles. 

Both these generals had rendered great services. Pompey 
had subdued the East, and Caesar the West. Pompey had 
more prestige, Caesar more genius. Pompey was a greater 
tactician, Caesar a greater strategist. Pompey was proud, 
pompous, jealous, patronizing, self-sufficient, disdainful. 
Caesar was politic, intriguing, patient, lavish, unenvious, easily 
approached, forgiving, with great urbanity and most genial 
manners. Both were ambitious, unscrupulous, and selfish. 
Cicero distrusted both, flattered each by turns, but inclined 
to the side of Pompey as more conservative, and less dan- 
gerous. The Senate took the side of Pompey, the people 
that of Caesar. Both Caesar and Pompey had enjoyed power 
so long, that neither would have been contented with privato 
life. 



454 Wai's between Ccesar and Pompey. [Chap. xxxv. 

In the year b. c. 49, Caesar's proconsular imperium was to 
terminate one year after the close of the Gallic war. He 
wished to be re-elected consul, and also secure his triumph. 
But he could not, according to law, have the triumph without 
disbanding the army, and without an army he would not be 
safe at Rome, with so many enemies. Neither could he be 
elected consul, according to the forms, while he enjoyed his 
imperium, for it had long been the custom that no one could 
sue for the consulship at the head of an army. He, therefore, 
could neither be consul nor enjoy a triumph, legitimately, 
without disbanding his army. Moreover, the party of Pom- 
pey, being then in the ascendant at Rome, demanded that 
Caesar should lay down his imperium. The tribunes, in the 
The Senate i^^tcrests of CsBsar, opposcd the decree of the Sen- 
demands the ^^^ . ^[^q reisinino; consuls threatened the tribunes, 

abdication of 5 o o ■ ^ > 

Caesar. ^nd they fled to Caesar's camp in Cisalpine Gaul. 

It should, however, be mentioned, that when the consul Mar- 
cellus, an enemy of Caesar, proposed in the Senate that he 
should lay down his command, Curio, the tribune, whose 
debts Caesar had paid, moved that Pompey should do the 
same ; which he refused to do, since the election of Caesar to 
the consulship would place the whole power of the republic 
in his hands. Caesar made a last effort to avoid the inevita- 
Csesar seeks blc war, by proposing to the Senate to lay down 
mise. his Command, if Pompey would also ; but Pompey 

prevaricated, and the compromise came to nothing. Both 
generals distrusted each other, and both were disloyal to the 
State. The Senaite then appointed a successor to Caesar in 
Gaul, ordered a general levy of troops throughout Italy, and 
voted money and men to Pompey. Caesar had already 
crossed the Rubicon, which was high treason, before his last 
proposal to compromise, and he was on his way to Rome. 
No one resisted him, for the people had but little interest in 
Eejected by *^® succcss of either party. Pompey, exaggerat- 
Pompey. j^g his popularity, thought he had only to stamp 
the ground, and an army would appear, and when he discov- 
ered that his rival was advancing on the Flaminian way, 



Chap. XXXV.] CcBsav in Spain. 455 

fled hasuly from Rome with most of the senators, and went 
to Brundubium. Caesar did not at once seize the capital, 
but followed Pompey, and so vigorously attacked C£esar 

Diirs lie's 

him, that he quit the town and crossed over to Pompey. 
Illyricum. Caesar had no troops to pursue him, and, there- 
fore retraced his steps, and entered Rome, after an absence of 
ten years, at the head of a victorious army, undisputed mas- 
ter of Italy. 

But Pompey still controlled his proconsular province of 
Spain, where seven legions were under his lieutenants, and 
Africa also was occupied by his party. Caesar, after arrang- 
ing the affairs of Italy, marched through Gaul into ^^.^^^^ ^^ 
Spain to fight the generals of Pompey. That cam- '^p'**'^- 
paign was ended in forty days, and he became master of 
Spain. While in Spain he was elected to his second consul- 
ship, and also made dictator. He returned to Rome as rapidly 
as he had marched into Spain, and enacted some wholesome 
laws, among others that by which the inhabitants of Cisalpine 
Gaul, the northern part of Italy, obtained citizenship. After 
settling the general affairs of Italy, he laid down the dictator- 
ship, and went to Brundusium, and collected his forces from 
various parts for a decisive conflict with Pompey, who had 
remained, meanwhile, in Macedonia, organizing his army. He 
collected nine legions, with auxiliary forces, while his fleet 
commanded the sea. He also secured vast magazines of corn 
in Thessaly, Asia, Egypt, Crete, and Cyrene. 

Caesar was able to cross the sea with scarcely more than 
fifteen thousand men, on account of the insufliciency Military 
of his fleet, and he was thrown upon a hostile shore, preparations, 
cut off from supplies, and in presence of a vastly superior 
force. But his troops were veterans, and his cause was 
strengthened by the capture of Apollonia. He then advanced 
north to seize Dyrrhachiuni, where Pompey's stores were 
deposited, but Pompey reached the town before him, and 
both armies encamped on the banks of the river Apsus, the 
one on the left and the other on the right bank. There Caesar 
was joined by the remainder of his troops, brought over with 



456 Wars between CcBsar and Pomjpey. [Chap. xxxv. 

great difficulty from Brimdusium by Marcus Antonius, Ms 
most able lieutenant and devoted friend. Pompey was also 
re-enforced by two legions from Syria, led by his father-in- 
law, Scipio. Both parties abstained from attacking each 
other while these re-enforcements were being brought for- 
ward, and Caesar even made a last effi^rt at compromise, while 
the troops on each side exchanged mutual courtesies. 

Pompey avoided a pitched battle, and intrenched himself 
Battle of ^^ ^ ^^ ^^^^ Dyrrhachium. Caesar surrounded 

DyrhacMum. ]^|^^ with lincs of circLimvallation. Pompey broke 
through them, and compelled Caesar to retire, with consider- 
able loss. He retreated to Thessaly, followed by Pompey, 
who, had he known how to pursue his advantage, might, after 
this last success — the last he ever had — have defeated Caesar. 
He had wisely avoided a pitched battle until his troops should 
become inured to service, or until he should wear out his 
adversary; but now, puffed up with victory and self-confi- 
dence, and unduly influenced by his officers, he concluded to 
risk a battle. Caesar was encamped on the plain of Pharsalia, 
and Pompey on a hill about four miles distant. The steep 
bank of the river Enipeus covered the right of Pompey's line 
and the left of Caesar's. The infantry of the former numbered 
forty-five thousand; that of the latter, twenty-two thousand, 
but they were veterans. Pompey was also superior in cav- 
alry, having seven thousand, while Caesar had only one thou- 
sand. With these, which formed the strength of Pompey's 
force, he proposed to outflank the right of Caesar, extended 
Battle of o^ ^^ plain. To guard against this movement, 
Pharsaha. Caesar withdrew six cohorts from his third line, 
and formed them into a fourth in the rear of his cavalry on 
the righto The battle commenced by a furious assault on the 
lines of Pompey by Caesar's veterans, who were received 
with courage. Meanwhile Pompey's cavalry swept away 
that of Caesar, and was advancing to attack the rear, when 
they received, unexpectedly, the charge of the cohorts which 
Caesar had posted there. The cavalry broke, and fled to the 
mountains. The six cohorts then turned upon the slingers 



Chap. XXXV.] Death of Pomj[>ey, • 457 

and archers, who had covered the attack of the cavalry, de- 
feated them, and fell upon the rear of Pompey's left. Ccesar 
then brought up his third line, and decided the battle. Pom- 
pey had fled when he saw the defeat of his cavalry. His 
camp was taken and sacked, and his troops, so confident ol 
victory, were scattered, surrounded, and taken prisoners* 
Cassar, with his usual clemency, spared their lives, nor had 
he any object to destroy them. Among those who surren- 
dered after this decisive battle was Junius Brutus, who was 
not only pardoned, but admitted to the closest friendship. 

Pompey, on his defeat, fled to Larissa, embarked with his 
generals, and sailed to Mitylene. As he had still FUsht of 
the province of Africa and a large fleet, it was his Egypt, 
policy to go there ; but he had a silly notion that his true 
field of glory was the East, and he sa^v no place of refuge 
but Egypt. That kingdom was then governed by the chil- 
dren of Ptolemy Auletes, Cleopatra and Ptolemy, neither of 
.whom were adults, and who, moreover, were quarreling with 
each other for the undivided sovereignty of Egypt. At this 
juncture, Pompey appeared on the coast, on which Ptolemy 
was encamped. He sent a messenger to the king, with the 
request that he might be sheltered in Alexandria. To grant 
it would compromise Ptolemy with Caesar ; to refuse it would 
send Pompey to the camp of Cleopatra in Syria. He was 
invited to a conference, and his minister Achilles was sent 
out in a boat to bring him on shore. Pompey, infatuated, 
imprudently trusted himself in the boat, in which Pompeyas- 
he recognized an old comrade, Septimius, who, ^^^smated. 
however, did not return his salutation. On landing, he was 
stabbed by Septimius, who had persuaded Ptolemy to take 
his life, in order to propitiate Caesar and gain the Egyptian 
crown. Thus ingloriously fell the conqueror of Asia, and 
the second m^n in the empire, by treachery. 

On the flight of Pompey from the fatal battle-field, Caesar 
pressed in pursuit, with only one legion and a troop 
of cavalry. Fearing a new war in Asia, Caesar Egypt. 
waited to collect his forces, and then embarked for Egypt 



458 Wars hetwcen Ccesar and Porapey, [Chap. xxxv. 

He arrived at Alexaodria only a few days after the murder 
of his rival, and was met by an officer bearing his head. He 
ordered it to be burned with costly spices, and placed the 
ashes in a shrine, dedicated to Nemesis. He then demanded 
ten million drachmas, promised by the late king, and sum- 
moned the contending sovereigns to his camp. Cleopatra 
captivated him, and he decided that both should share the 
throne, but that the ministers of Ptolemy should be deposed, 
which was reducing the king to a cipher. But the fanaticism 
Eastern con- ^^ *^® Alexandrians being excited, and a collision 
quests. having taken place between them and his troops, 

Caesar burned the Egyptian fleet, and fortified himself at 
Pharos, awaiting re-enforcements. Ptolemy, however, turned 
against him, when he had obtained his release, and perished 
in an action on the banks of the Nile. Cleopatra was re- 
stored to the throne, under the protection of Rome. 

Pharnaces, son of Mithridates, rewarded by Pompey with 
^ the throne of the Bosphorus for the desertion of his 

Pharnaces. 

father, now made war against Rome. Calvin us> 
sent against him, sustained a defeat, and Csesar rapidly 
marched to Asia to restore affairs. It was then he wrote to 
the Senate that brief, but vaunting letter : " Pen^, vidi, vici.''^ 
He already meditated those conquests in the East which had 
inflamed the ambition of his rival. He caught the spirit of 
Oriental despotism. He was not proof against the flatteries 
of the Asiatics. But his love for Cleopatra worked a still 
greater change in his character, even as it undermined the 
respect of his countrymen. History brands with infamy that 
unfortunate connection, which led to ostentation, arrogance, 
harshness, impatience, and contempt of mankind — the same 
qualities which characterized Napoleon on his return from 
Egypt. 

In September, b. c. 47, * Caesar returned to Italy, having 
Dictatorship been already named dictator by a defeated and 
of Oaesar. obscquious Senate. Cicero was among the first to 
meet him, and was graciously pardoned. The only severe 
measure which he would allow was the confiscation of the 



Chap. XXXV.] Death of Coto. 459 

property of Pompey and his sons, whose statues, however, 
he replaced. He now ruled absolutely, but under the old 
forms, and was made tribune for life. The Senate nominated 
him consul for five years, and he was also named dictator. 

The only foes who now seriously stood out against him 
were the adherents of Pompey, who had time, during his 
absence in the East, to reorganize their forces, and it was in 
Africa that the last conflict was to be fought. The Porapeians 
were commanded by Scipio, w^ho fixed his head-quarrers at 
Hadrumetum, with an army often legions, a large force of 
Kumidian cavalry, and one hundred and twenty elephants. 
But Caesar defeated this large army with a vastly inferior 
force, and the rout was complete. Scipio took ship for Spain, 
but ^vas driven back, as Marias had been on the Italian coasts 
when pursued by the generals of Sulla, and ended his hfe by 
suicide. Cato, the noblest Roman of his day, whose 
march across the Airican desert w^as one of tiie 
great feats of his age, might have escaped, and would proba- 
bly have been pardoned : but the lofty stoic could not en- 
dure the sight of the prostration of Roman liberties, and, 
fortifying his courage with the JPhcedon of Plato, also fell upon 
his sword. The Roman republic ended with his death. 

After reducing Numidia to a Roman province, Caesar re- 
turned to Italy with immense treasures, and was Triumph of 
everywhere received with unexampled honors. <^*^ar. 
At Rome he celebrated a fourfold triumph — for victories ia 
Gaul, Egypt, Africa, and the East — and the Senate decreed 
that his image in ivory should be carried in procession with 
those of the gods. Ilis bronze statue was set upon a globe 
in the capitol, as the emblem of universal sovereignty. All 
the extravagant enthusiasm which marked the French people 
for the victories of Napoleon, and all the servility which 
unbounded power everywhere commands, were The vast 

1 1 1 " . 1 • power of 

bestowed upon the greatest conqueror the ancient ctesar. 
world ever saw. A thanksgiving was decreed for forty days; 
the number of the lictors was doubled ; he was made dictator 
for ten years, with the command of all the airmies of the State, 



460 Wars hetween Cobsar and Pompey, [Chap. xxxv. 

and the presidency of the public festivals. He also was made 
censor for three years, by which he regulated the Senate 
according to his sovereign will. His triumphs were followed 
by profuse largesses to the soldiers and people, and he also 
instituted magnificent games under an awning of silk, at the 
close of which the Forum Julhim. was dedicated. 

Such were his unparalleled honors and powers. All the 
great offices of the State were invested and united in him, 
and nothing was wanted to complete his aggrandizement but 
the name of emperor. But we turn from these, the usual 
rewards of conquerors, to glance at the services he rendered 
to civilization, which constitute his truest claim to immor- 
tality. One of the greatest was the reform of the calendar, 
for the Roman year was ninety days in advance of the true 
meaning of that word. The old year had been determined 
by lunar months rather than by the apparent path of the sun 
among the fixed stars which had been determined by the 
ancient astronomers, and was one of the greatest discoveries 
of ancient science. The Roman year consisted of three hun- 
The Julian dred and fifty-five days, so that January was an 
calendar. autumn month. Csesar inserted the regular inter- 
calary month of twenty-three days, and two additional ones 
of sixty-seven days. These were added to the three hundred 
and sixty-five days, making a year of transition of four hun- 
dred and forty-five days, by which January was brought 
back to the first month of the year, after the winter solstice. 
And to prevent the repetition of the error, he directed that 
in future the year should consist of three hundred and sixty- 
five days and one quarter of a day, which he efl*ected by add- 
ing one day to the months of April, June, September, and 
JSToyember, and two days to the months of January, Sextilis, 
and December, making an addition of ten days to the old 
year of three hundred and fifty-five, and he provided for a 
uniform intercalation of one day in every fourth year. Caesar 
was a student of astronomy, and always found time for its 
contemplation. He even wrote an essay on the motion of 
the stars, assisted in his observation by Sosigenes, an Alex- 



Chap. XXXV.] Battle of Mwida. 461 

andrian astronomer. He took astronomy out of the hands of 
priests, and made it a matter of civil legislation. lie was 
drawn away from legislation to draw the sword once more 
against the relics of the Pompeian party, which had been 
collected in Spain. On the field of Munda was Last battle 
fought his last great battle, contested with unusual of ^'*sar. 
fuiy, and attended with savage cruelties. Thirty thousand 
of his opponents fell in this battle, and Sextus Porapey alone, 
of all the marked men, escaped to the mountains, and defied 
pursuit. On this victory he celebrated his last triumph, and 
the supple Senate decreed to him the title of Imperator. He 
was made consul for ten years, dictator for life, his person was 
decreed inviolable, and he was surrounded by a guard of 
nobles and senators. He also received the insignia of royalty, 
a golden chair and a diadem set with gems, and was allowed 
to wear the triumphal robe of purple whenever he appeared 
in public. The coins were stamped with his image, his statue 
was placed in the temples, and his friends obtained all the 
offices of the State. He adopted Octavius, his grand-nephew, 
and thus paved the way for an absolute despotism under 
his successors. The measure of his glory and ambition was 
full. He was the undisputed master of the world. 

He then continued his reforms and improvements, as 
Napoleon did after his coronation as emperor. He gave the 
Roman franchise to various States and cities out of Italy, 
and colonized new cities. He excluded judices from all ranks 
but those of senators and knights, and enacted new laws for 
the security of persons and property. He gave unbounded 
religious toleration, and meditated a complete codification of 
the Roman law. He founded a magnificent public library, 
appointed commissioners to make a map of the whole empire, 
and contemplated the draining of the Pontine marshes. 

After these works of legislation and public improvement, 
he prepared for an expedition to Parthia, in which he hoped 
to surpass the conquests of Alexander in the East. But his 
career was suddenly cut off by his premature death. Thel 
nobles whom he humiliated, and the Oriental despotism he 



462 Wars between Ccesar and Pomjpey. [Chap. xxxv. 

contemplated, caused a secret hostility which he did not sus- 
pect amid the universal subserviency to his will. Above all, 
the title of king, the symbol of legitimate sovereignty, to 
which he aspired, sharpened the daggers of the few remain- 
ing friends of the liberty which had passed away for evei*. 
The old parties of the State concocted the conspiracy, some 
eighty nobles, at the head of which were Brutus and Cassius. 
Death of C>n the. fifteenth day of March, B.C. 44, the Ides of 
Cffisar. March, the day for which the Senate was convened 

for his final departure for the East, he was stabbed in the 
senate-house, and he fell, pierced with wounds, at the foot of 
Pompey's statue, in his fifty-sixth year, and anarchy, and new 
wars again commenced. 

The concurrent voices of all historians and critics unite to 
give Caesar the most august name of all antiquity. He was 
great in every thing, — as orator, as historian, as statesman, 
as general, and as lawgiver. He had genius, understanding, 
memory, taste, industry, and energy. lie could write, read, 
and dictate at the same time. He united the bravery of Alex- 
ander with the military resources of Hannibal. He had a 
marvelous faculty of winning both friends and enemies. He 
Character of was gcuerous, magnanimous, and courteous. Not 
Caesar. evcn his lovc for Cleopatra impaired the energies 

of his mind and body. He was not cruel or sanguinary, ex- 
cept when urged by reasons of State. He pardoned Cicero^ 
and received Brutus into intimate friendship. His successes 
were transcendent, and bis fortune never failed him. He 
reached the utmost limit of human ambition, and was only 
hurled from his pedestal of power by the secret daggers of 
fanatics, who saw in his elevation the utter extinction of Ro- 
man liberty. But liberty had already fled, and a degenerate 
age could only be ruled by a despot. It might have been 
better for Rome had his life been prolonged when all consti- 
tutional freedom had become impossible. But he took the 
sword, and Kemesis demanded that he should perish by it, as 
a warning to all future usurpers who would accomplish even 
good ends by infamous means, Vulgar pity compassionates 



Chap. XXXV.] Death of CcBsav. 463 

the sad fate of the great Julius ; but we can not forget that it 
was he who gave the last blow to the constitution and liber- 
ties of his country. The greatness of his gifts and services 
pale before the gigantic crime of which he stands accused at 
the bar of all the ages, and the understanding of the world is 
mocked when his usurpation is justified. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

'i 

THE CIVIL WARS FOLLOWING THE DEATH OF 0-ESAiJ. 

ANTONIUS. AUGUSTUS. 

The assassination of Caesar was not immediately followed 
with the convulsions which we should naturally expect. The 
people were weary of war, and sighed for reposej and, more- 
over, were compaiatively indifferent on whom the govern- 
ment fell, since their liberties were hopelessly prostrated. 
Only one thing was certain, that power would be usurped by 
some one, and most probably by the great chieftains who 
represented Caesar's interests. 

The most powerful men in Rome at this time, were Marcus 
Great men of Autouius, the most able of Caesar's lieutenants, 

Kome at this r. i • /» • t 

time. the most constant of his friends, and the near- 

est of his relatives, although a man utterly unprincipled; 
Octavius, grand-nephew of Julius, whom he adopted as his 
heir, a young man of nineteen; Lepidus, colleague consul 
with Caesar, the head of the ancient family of the Lepidi, 
thirteen of whom had been honored with curule magis- 
tracies ; Sextus Pompeius, son of Porapey; Brutus and Cas- 
sius, chief conspirators ; Dolabella, a man of consular rank, 
and one of the profligate nobles of his time ; Hirtius and 
Pansa, consuls ; Piso, fatherin-law of Caesar, of a powerful 
family, which boasted of several consuls ; and Cicero — still 
influential from his great weight of character. AH these 
men were great nobles, and had filled the highest offices. 

The man who, to all appearance, had the fiirest chance 
for supreme command in that troubled age, was Antonius, 
whose mother was Jnlia, Caesar's sister. He was grandson 
to the great orator M, Antonius, who flourished daring th© 



Chap. XXXVI.] Funeral of Ccesar. 465 

civil wars between Marius and Sulla, and was distinguished 
for every vice, folly, and extravagance which characterized 
the Roman nobles. But he was a man of consummate abil- 
ity as a general, was master of the horse, and was consul with 
Caesar, when he was killed, b. c. 44. He was also eloquent, 
and pronounced the funeral oration of the murdered Impera- 
tor, as nearest of kin. He -had possession of Caesar's papers, 
and was the governor of Cisalpine Gaul. He formed a union 
with Lepidus, to whom he offered the office of Pontifex Max- 
imus, the second office in the State. As consul, he could 
unlock the public treasury, which he rifled to the extent of 
seven hundred million of sesterces — the vast sum left by 
Caesar. One of his brothers was praetor, and another, ^ 
tribune. He convened the Senate, and employed, by the 
treasure he had at command, the people to overawe the Sen- 
ate, as the Jacobin clubs of the French revolution overawed 
the Assembly. He urged the Senate to ratify Caesar's acts 
and confirm his appointments, and in this was Antonius 

, . . Y» -I takes the lead 

supported by Cicero and a majority of the mem- at Rome, 
bers. iNTow that the deed was done, he wished to hate the 
past forgotten. This act of amnesty confirmed his fearful 
pre-eminence, and the inheritance of the mighty dead seem- 
ingly devolved upon him. The conspirators came to terms 
with him, and were even entertained by him, and received 
the provinces which he assigned to them. Brutus received 
Macedonia ; Cassius, Syria ; Trebonius, Asia ; Cimber, By- 
thinia ; and Deciraus, Cisalpine Gaul. Dolabella was his col- 
league in the consulship, — a personal enemy, yet committed 
to his policy. 

Caesar had left three hundred sesterces to every citizen, 
(about £3,) and his gardens beyond the Tiber to the use 
of the people. Such gifts operated in producing an intense 
gratitude for the memory of a man who had proved so great 
a benefactor, and his public funeral was of unprecedented 
splendor. Antonius, his nearest heir, and the first mag- 
istrate, pronounced the oration, which was a consummate 
piece of dramatic art, in which he inflamed the passions of the 

30 



466 Wars after the Death of Ccesar. [Chap. xxxvt. 

people, and stimulated them to frenzy, so that they turned 
upon the assassins with fury. But he assured the Senate of 
his moderation, abolished the dictatorship forever, and 
secured his own personal safety by a body-guard. 

He had, however, a powerful rival in the young Octavius, 

who had been declared by Caesar's will his principal heir, 

then absent in Apollonia. He resolved to return at 

Octavms. ... 

once and claim his inheritance, and was warmly 
received at Brundusium by the veteran troops, and especially 
by Cicero, who saw in him a rival to Antonius. Octavius 
flattered the old orator, and ingratiated himself in the favor 
of everybody by his unassuming manners, and his specious 
language. He entered Rome under favorable omens, paid 
his court to the senators, and promised to fulfill his uncle's 
requests. He was met by Antonius in the gardens of Pom- 
peius, and claimed at once his inheritance. Antonius replied 
that it was not private property but the public treasure, 
and was, moreover, spent. Octavius was not to be put off, 
and boldly declared that he Avould and could pay the lega- 
cies, and contrived to borrow the money. Such an act 
secured unrivaled popularity. He gave magnificent shows, 
and then claimed that the jeweled crown of Cassar should be 
exhibited on the festival which he instituted to Venus, and 
to whose honor Caesar had vowed to build a temple, on the 
morning of his victory at Pharsalia. The tribunes, instigated 
by Antonius, refused to sanction this mark of honor, but for- 
tune favored Octavius, and, in the enthusiasm of the festival, 
which lasted eleven days, the month Quintilus was changed 
to Julius— the first demisfod whom the Senate had translated 
to Olympus. 

Meanwhile Brutus and Cassius retired from public affairs, 
lingering in the neighborhood of Rome, and the provinces 
Brutus and P^'omlscd to them were lost. At Antium they had 
Cftssius. an interview with Cicero, who advised them to 
keep quiet, and not venture to the capital, where the people 
were inflamed against them. Their only encouragement was 
the successes of Sextus Pompeius in Spain, who had six 



Chap. XXXVI.] The PJtilijppics of Cicero, 4157 

legions at his command. Cicero foresaw that another civil 
war was at hand, and had the gloomiest forebodings, for one 
or the other of the two great chieftains of the partisans of 
Caesar was sure of ultimately obtaining the supreme power. 
The humiliatino; conviction that the murder of Csesar was a 
mistake, was now deeply impressed upon his mind, since it 
would necessarily inaugurate another bloody war. Self-ban- 
ished from Rome, this great and true patriot wandered from 
place to place to divert his mind. But neither the fascina- 
tions of literature, nor the attractions of Tusculum, Puteoli, 
Pompeii, and Neapolis, where he had luxurious villas, could 
soothe his anxious and troubled soul. Religious, old, and 
experienced, he could only ponder on the coming and final 
prostration of that cause of constitutional liberty to which 
he was devoted. 

Antonius,^lso aware of the struggle which was impending, 
sought to obtain the government of Cisalpine Gaul, and of 
the six legions destined for the Parthian war. But he was 
baffled by the Senate, and by the intrigues of Octavius, who 
sheltered himself behind the august name of the man by 
whom he had been adopted. He therefore made a hollow 
reconciliation with Octavius, and by his means, obtained the 
Gaulish provinces. Cicero, now only desirous to die honor- 
ably, returned to Rome to accept whatever fate 
was in store for him, and defend to the last his 
broken cause. It was then, in the Senate, that he launched 
forth those indignant philippics against Antonius, as a pub- 
lic enemy, which are among his greatest efforts, and which 
most triumphantly attest his moral courage. 

The hollow reconciliation between Antonius and Octavius 
was not of long duration, and the former, as consul, repaired 
to Brundusium to assume command of the legions stationed 
there, and Octavius collected his forces in Campania. Both 
parties complained of each other, and both invoked the 
name of Caesar. Cicero detested the one, and was blinded 
as to the other. 

The term of office as consul, which Antonius held, had now 



468 Wars after the Death of Ccesar. [Chap. xxxvi. 

expired, and Hirtius, one of the new- consuls, marched into 
Prospects of CJisalpinc Gaul, and Octavius placed himself under 
civil war. j^jg command. The Senate declared a state of pub- 
lic danger. The philippics of Cicero had taken effect, and 
the Senate and the government were now oj^posed to Anto- 
nius, as the creator of a new revolution. The consuls crossed 
swords with Antonius at Forum Gallorum, and the consul 
Pansa fell, but success was with the government. Another 
success at Mutina favored the government party, which 
Octavius had joined. On the news of this victory, Cicero 
delivered his fourteenth and last philippic against Antonius, 
who now withdrew from Cisalpine Gaul, and formed a junc- 
tion with Lepidus beyond the Alps. Octavius declined to 
pursue him, and Plancus hesitated to attack him, although 
joined by Decimus, one of the murderers of Caesar, with ten 
legions. Octavius now held aloof from the government 
army, from which it was obvious that he had ambitious 
views of his own to further, and was denounced by Plancus 
to Cicero. The veteran statesman, at last, perceived that 
Situation of Octavius, havino* deserted Decimus (who, of all the 
affairs. generals, was the only one on whose ndelity the 

State could securely lean), was not to be further relied upon, 
and cast his eyes to Macedonia and Syria, to which provinces 
Brutus and Cassias had retired. The Senate, too, now dis- 
trusted Octavius, and treated him with contumely; but sup- 
ported by veteran soldiers, he demanded the consulship, and 
even secretly corresponded with Antonius, and assured him 
of his readiness to combine with him and Lepidus, and in- 
vited them to follow him to Rome. He marched at the head 
of eight legions, pretending all the while to be coei-ced by 
them. The Senate, overawed, allowed him, at twenty years 
of age, to assume the consulship, with Pedius, grand-nephew 
of Caesar, for his colleague. Since Hirtius and Pansa had 
both fallen, Octavius, then leaving the city in the hands of 
a zealous colleague, opened negotiations with Antonius and 
Lepidus, perceiving that it was only in conjunction with 
them that his usurpation could be maintained. They met 



Chap. XXXVI.] The THumvirate. 469 

for negotiations at Bononia, and agreed to share the empire 
betwev.^n them. They declared thernselves triumvirs for the 
settlement of the commonwealth, and after a con- Tiae trium- 
ference of three days, divided between themselves AnS.niis, 
the provinces and legions. They then concerted LepTdus!'^^ 
a general proscription of their enemies. The number whom 
they thus doomed to destruction was three hundred senators 
and two thousand knights, from the noblest families of 
Rome, among whom were brothers, uncles, and favorite offi- 
cers. The possession of riches was fatal to some, and of 
beautiful villas to others. Cicero was amongr this number, as 
was to be expected, for he had exhausted the Latin language 
in vituperations of Antonius, whom he hated beyond all 
other mortals, and which hatred was itself a passion. He 
spoke of Caesar with awe, of Pompey with mortiii- They pro- 
cation, of Crassus wdth dislike, and of Antonius with enernies!^^'' 
bitter dctesta.tion and unsparing nuilice. It was impossible 
that he could escape, even had he fled to the ends of the 
earth. The vacillation of his last hours, his deep distress, 
and mournful agonies are painted by Plutarch. He fell a 
martyr to the cause of truth, and public virtue, and exalted 
patriotism, although his life was sullied by weakness and 
infirmities, such as vanity, ambition, and jealousy. In the 
dark and wicked period which he adorned by his transcend- 
ent talents and matchless services, he lived and died in faith 
— the most amiable and the most noble of all his contem- 
poraries. 

The triumvirs had now gratified their vengeance by a 
series of murders never surpassed in the worst ages of relig- 
ious and political fanaticism. And all these horrible crimes 
were perpetrated in the name of that great and august 
character who had won the w^orld by his sw^ord. The pres- 
tige of that mighty name sanctioned their atrocities and up- 
held their power. Caesar still lived, although assassinated, 
and the triumvirs reigned as his heirs or avengers, even as 
Louis Napoleon grasped the sceptre of his uncle, not from 
any services he had rendered, but as the heir of his conquests. 



470 Wars after the Death of Ccesar. [Chap, xxxvi. 

The Romans loved C.'esar as the French loved Napoleon, 
and submitted to the rule of the triumvirs, as the French 
submitted to the usurpations of the proscribed prisoner of 
Ham. And in the anarchy which succeeded the assassination 
of the greatest man of antiquity, it must need be that the 
strongest would seize the reins, since all liberty and exalted 
patriotism had fled. 

But these usurpers did not secure their power without one 
Cassiusand iiiore last Struggle of the decimated and ruined 
Se^arLtoc-^ aristocracy. They rallied under the standards of 
racy. Brutus and Cassius in Macedonia and Syria. The 

one was at the head of eight legions, and the other of eleven, 
a still formidable force. Sextus Pompeius also still lived, 
and had intrenched himself in Sicily. A battle had still to 
be fought before the republic gave its last sigh. Cicero 
ought to have joined these forces, and might have done so, 
but for his vacillation. So Lepidus, as consul, took control 
of Rome and the interests of Italy, while Antonius marched 
against Brutus and Cassius in the East, and Octavius assailed 
Sextus in Sicily; unable, however, to attack him Avithout 
ships, he joined his confederate. Their united forces were 
concentrated in Philippi, in Thrace, and there was fought 
the last decisive battle between the republicans, if the sena- 
torial and aristocratic party under Brutus and Cassius can 
be called republicans, and the liberators, as they called them- 
selves, or the adherents of Caesar. The republicans had a 
force of eighty thousand infantry and twenty thousand 
cavalry, while the triumvirs commanded a still superior 
force. The numbers engaged in this great conflict exceeded 
Battle of ^^^ former experience, and the battle of Philippi 
Phihppi. ^^g ^j^g most memorable in Roman annals, since 
all the available forces of the empire were now arrayed 
against each other. The question at issue was, whether 
power should remain with the old constitutional party, or 
with the party of usurpation which Coesar had headed and 
led to victory. It was whether Rome should be governed 
by the old forms, or by an imperator with absolute authority. 



Chap. XXXVI.] Battle of FMlijppL 471 

The forces arrayed on that fatal battle-field — the last conflict 
for liberty ever fought at Rome — were three times as great 
as fought at Pharsalia. On that memorable battle-field the 
republic perished. The battle was fairly and bravely fought 
on both sides, but victory inclined to the Csesarians, in two 
distinct actions, after an interval of tv^enty days, b. c. 42. 
Both Cassius and Brutus fell on their own swords, and their 
self-destruction, in utter despair of their cause, effectually 
broke up their party. ♦ 

The empire was now in the hands of the triumvirs. The 
last contest was decisive. Future struggles were worse than 
useless. Destiny had proclaimed the extinction of Eoman lib- 
Roman liberties for ever. It was vice and faction guisheV^' 
which had prepared the way for violence, and the last appeal 
to the sword had settled the fate of the empire, henceforth to 
be governed by a despot. 

But there being now three despots among the partisans of 
Caesar, who sought to grasp his sceptre. Which should pre- 
vail? Antonius was the greatest general; Octavius was the 
greatest man ; Lepidus was the tool of both. The real 
rivalry was between Octavius and Antonius. But they did 
not at once quarrel. Antonius undertook the subjugation of 
the eastern provinces, and Octavius repaired to Rome. The 
former sought, before the great encounter with his rival, to 
gain military eclat from new victories ; the latter to control 
factions and parties in the capital. They first got rid of 
Lepidus, now that their more powerful enemies were sub- 
dued, and compelled him to surrender the command in Italy 
and content himself with the government of Africa. Anto- 
nius, commanding no less than twenty-eight legions, which, 
with auxiliaries, numbered one hundred and seventy thousand, 
had perhaps the best chance. His exactions were awful ; but 
he squandered his treasures, and gave vent to his passions. 

The real cause of his overthrow was Cleopatra, for had he 
not been led aside by his inordinate passion for this Cleopatra 
woman, and had he exercised his vast power with mus. 
the wisdom and ability which he had previously shown, 



472 Wars after the Death of C(Bsar [Chap, xxxvi. 

the most able of all of Caesar's generals, he probably would 
have triumphed over every foe. On his passage through 
Cilicia, he was met by Cleopatra, in all the pomp and luxury 
of an Oriental sovereign. She came to deprecate his wrath, 
ostensibly, and ascended the Cydnus in a bark with gilded 
stern and purple sails, rowed with silver oars, to the sound 
of j)ipes and flutes. She reclined, the most voluptuous of 
ancient beauties, under a spangled canopy, attended by 
Graces and Cupids, while the air was scented with the per- 
fumes of Olympus. She soon fascinated the most powerful 
man in the empire, who, forgetting his ambition, resigned 
himself to love. Octavius, master of himself, and of Italy, 
confiscated lands for the benefit of the soldiers, and prepared 
for future contingencies. Though Antonius married Octavia, 
the sister of Octavius, he was full of intrigues against him . 
and Octavius, on his part, proved more than a match in 
duplicity and concealed hostilities. They, however, pre- 
tended to be friends ; and the treaty of Brundusium, cele- 
brated by Yirgil, would seem to indicate that the world was 
now to enjoy the peace it craved. After a debauch, Antonius 
left Home for the East, and Octavius for Gaul, each with a 
view of military conquests. Antonius, with his new wife, had 
seemingly forgotten Cleopatra, and devoted himself to the 
duties of the camp with an assiduity worthy of Caesar him- 
war between self. Octavius has a uaval conflict with Sextua, 

Octavius and T«nr> ti a t^ '^ n r- 

Sextus, and is defeated, but Sextus fails to profit from his 

victory, and Octavius, with the help of his able lieutenants, 
and re-enforced by Antonius, again attacks Sextus, and is 
again defeated. In a third conflict he is victorious, and Sex- 
tus escapes to the East. Lepidus, ousted and cheated by 
both Antonius and Octavius, now combines with Sextus and 
the Pompeians, and makes head against Octavius; but is 
deserted by his soldiers, and falls into the hands of his 
enemy, who spares his life in contempt. He had owed his 
elevation to his family influence, and not to his own abilities. 
Sextus, at last, was taken and slain. 
At this juncture Octavius was at the head of the Caesarian 



Chap. XXXVI.] Cleojpatra. 473 

party. He had won the respect and friendship of the Ro' 
mans by his clemency and munificence. He was not a great 
general, but he was served by a great general, Agrippa, and 
by another minister of equal talents, Maecenas. He controlled 
even more forces than Antonius, no less than forty-five legions 
of infantry, and twenty-five thousand cavalry, and thirty- 
seven thousand light-armed auxiliaries. Antonius, on the 
other hand, had forfeited the esteem of the Romans by his 
prodigalities, by his Oriental afiectations, and by his slavery 
to Cleopatra. 

This artful and accomplished woman again met Antonius 
in Asia, and resumed her sway. The general of one hundred 
battles became effeminated by his voluptuous dalliance, so 
that his Parthian campaign was a failure, even though he led 
an army of one hundred thousand men. He was obliged to 
retreat, and his retreat was disastrous. It was while he was 
planning another campaign that Octavia, his wife, and the 
sister of his rival, — a woman who held the most dignified 
situation in the world, — brought to his camp both money and 
troops, and hoped to allay the jealousies of her husband, and 
secure peace between him and her brother. But Antonius 
heartlessly refused to see this noble-minded woman, while he 
gave provinces to Cleopatra. At Alexandria this abandoned 
profligate plunged, with his paramour, into every excess of 
extravagant debauchery, while she who enslaved him only 
dreamed of empire and domination. She may have loved 
him, but she loved power more than she did debauchery. 
Her intellectual accomplishments were equal to her personal 
fascinations, and while she besfuiled the sensual Roman with 
costly banquets, her eye was steadily directed to the estab- 
lishment of her Egyptian throne. 

The rupture wliich Octavia sought to prevent between her 
brother and her husband — for, with the rarest magnanimity, 
she still adhered to him in spite of his infatuated love for 
Cleopatra — at last took place, when Octavius was triumphant 
over Sextus, and Antonius was unsuccessful in the distant 
East. Octavius declared war against the queen of Egypt, 



47 i Wars after the Death of Cmsar. [Chap, xxxvi. 

and Antoilins divorced Octavia. Throughout the winter of 
B. c. 31, both parties prepared for the inevitable conflict, for 
Rome now could have but one master. The fate of the em- 
pire was to be settled, not by land forces, but a naval battle, 
and that was fought at Actiura, not now with equal forces, 
for those of Antonius had been weakened by desertions. 
Moreover, he rejected the advice of his ablest generals, and 
put himself under the guidance of his mistress, while Octavius 
listened to the counsels of Agrippa. 

The battle had scarcely begun before Cleopatra fled, fol- 
lowed by Antonius. The destruction of the Antonian fleet 
was the consequence. This battle, b. c. 31, gave the empire 
of the world to Octavius, and Antonius fled to Alexandria 
with the woman who had ruined him. And it was well that 
the empire fell into the hands of a politic and profound states- 
man, who sought to consolidate it and preserve its peace, 
rather than into those of a debauched general, with insatiable 
passions and blood-thirsty vengeance. The victor landed in 
Egypt, while the lovers abandoned themselves to despair. 
Antonius, on the rumor of Cleopatra's death, gave himself a 
mortal wound, but died in the arms of her for whom he had 
sacrificed fame, fortune, and life. Cleopatra, in the interview 
which Octavius sought at Alexandria, attempted to fascinate 
him by those arts by which she had led astray both Caesar 
and Antonius, but the cold and politic conqueror was un- 
moved, and coldly demanded the justification of her political 
career, and reserved her to grace his future ti-iumph. She 
eluded his vigilance, and destroyed herself, as is supposed, 
by the bite of asps, since l:^er dead body showed none of the 
ordinary spots of ]3oison. She died, b. c. 30, in the fortieth 
year of her age, and was buried as a queen by the side of her 
lover. Her son Ceesarion, by Julius Caesar, was also put to 
death, and then the master of the world " wiped his blood- 
stained sword, and thrust it into the scabbard." No more 
victims were needed. No rivalship was henceforth to be 
dreaded, and all opposition to his will had ceased. 

Octavius reduced Egypt to the form of a Roman province, 



Chap. XXXVI.] Octavius as Emperor. 475 

and after adjusting the affairs of the East, among which was 
the ■confirmation of Herod as sovereign of Judea, he returned 
to Rome to receive his new honors, and secure his undivided 
sovereignty. Peace was given to the world at last. The 
imperator dedicated temples to the gods, and gave games 
and spectacles to the people. The riches of all previous 
conquests were his to dispose and enjoy — the extent, of 
which may be conjectured from the fact that CsBsar alone had 
seized an amount equal to one hundred and seventy million 
pounds, not reckoning the relative value of gold in these 
times. Divine honors were rendered to Octavius as the 
heir of Caesar. He assumed the praenomen of imperator, 
but combined in himself all the great offices of the republic 
which had been overturned. As censor, he purged and con- 
trolled the Senate, of which he was appointed princeps, or 
chief. As consul lie had the control of the armies of the State ; 
as perpetual proconsul over all the provinces of the empire, he 
controlled their revenues, their laws, their internal reforms, 
and all foreign relations. As tribune for life, he initiated 
legal measures before the Comitia of the tribes ; as Pontifex 
Maximus, he had the regulation of all religious ceremonials. 
All these great offices were voted him by a subservient peo- 
ple. The only prerogative which remained to them was the 
making of laws, but even this great and supreme power he 
controlled, by assuming the initiation of all laws and 
measures, — that which Louis Napoleon had claimed in the 
Corps Legislatif He had also resorted to edicts, which had 
the force of laws, and ultimately composed no small part of 
the Roman jurisprudence. Finally, he assumed the name of 
Caesar, as he had of Augustus, and consummated the reality 
of despotism by the imposing title of imperator, or 
emperor. 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 

THE KOMAN EMPIRE ON THE ACCESSION OF AUGUSTTJS. 

OcTAVius, now master of the world, is generally called 
Augustus Caesar — the name he assumed. He was the first 
of that great line of potentates whom we call emperors. Let 
us, before tracing the history of the empire, take a brief sur- 
vey of its extent, resources, population, institutions, state of 
society, and that development of art, science, and literature, 
which we call civilization, in the period which immediately 
preceded the birth of Christ, when the nations were subdued, 
submissive to the one central power, and at peace with each 
other. 

The empire was not so large as it subsequently became, 
Prosperity nor was it at that hei2:ht of power and prosperity 

of the em- ,. i ^„ -, V. , . *^ 

pire. which lollowed a century of peace, when unmter- 

rupted dominion had reconciled the world to the rule of the 
Caesars. But it was the golden age of imperial domination, 
when arts, science, and literature flourished, and when the 
world rested from incessant wars. It was not an age of 
highest glory to man, since all struggles for liberty had 
ceased; but it was an age of good government, when its 
macliinery was perfected, and the great mass of mankind felt 
secure, and all classes abandoned themselves to pleasure, or 
gain, or uninterrupted toils. It was the first time in the his- 
tory of the world, when there was only one central authority, 
and w^hen the experiment was to be tried, not of liberty and 
self-government, but of universal empu-e, growing up from 
universal rivalries and wars — wielded by one central and 
irresistible will. The spectacle of the civilized world obedi- 
ent to one master has sublimity, and moral grandeur, and 



CiiAF. XXXVII.] Grandeur of the Emjpire. 477 

suggests principles of grave interest. The last of the great 
monarchies which revelation had foretold, and the greatest 
of all — the iron monarchy which Daniel saw in prophetic 
vision, reveals lessons of profound significance. 

The empire then embraced all the countries hordering on 
the Mediterranean — that great inland sea upon Extent of 
whose shores the most famous cities of antiquity ^^'^ empire. 
flourished, and toward which the tide of Assyrian and Per- 
sian conquests had rolled, and then retreated for ever. The 
boundaries of this mighty empire were great mountains, and 
deserts, and oceans, and impenetrable forests. On the east 
lay the Parthian empire, separated from the Roman by the 
Tigris and Euphrates, and the Armenian Mountains, beyond 
which were other great empires not known to the Greeks, like 
the Indian and the Chinese monarchies, with a different civil- 
ization. On the south were the African deserts, not pene- 
trated even by travelers. On the west was the ocean ; and 
on the north were barbaric tribes of different names and 
races — Slavonic, Germanic, and Celtic. The empire extended 
over a territory of one million six hundred thousand square 
miles, and among its provinces were Spain, Gaul, Sicily, 
Africa, Egypt, Syria, Asia Minor, Achaia, Macedonia, and 
Illj'-ricum — all tributary to Italy, whose capital was Rome. 
The central province numbered four millions who were free, 
and could furnish, if need be, seven hundred thousand foot, 
and seventy thousand horse for the armies of the republic. 
It was dotted with cities, and villages, and villas, cities of the 
and filled with statues, temples, and works of art, ®™p"'®- 
brought from remotest provinces — the spoil of three hundred 
years of conquest. In all the provinces were great cities, 
once famous and independent — centres of luxury and wealth — 
Corinth, Athens, Syracuse, Carthage, Alexandria, Antioch, 
Ephesus, Damascus, and Jerusalem, with their dependent 
cities, all connected with each other and the capital by gran- 
ite roads, all favored by commerce, all rejoicing in a uniform 
government. Rome, the great mistress who ruled over one 
hundred and twenty millions, contained an immense popula- 



478 Roman Oimlization. [Chap, xxxvii. 

tion, variously estimated, in wliicli were centred whatever 
wealth or power had craved. This capital had become rapidly 
ornamented with palaces, and temples, and works of art, with 
the subjugation of Greece and Asia Minor, although it did not 
reach the climax of maojnificence until the time of Hadrian. 
In the time of Augustus, the most imposing buildings were 
the capitol, restored by Sulla and Caesar, whose gilded roof 
alone cost 115,000,000. The theatre of Pompey could ac- 
commodate eighty thousand spectators, behind which was a 
portico of one hundred pillars. Caesar built the Forum Ju- 
Maffnificence lium, three hundred and forty feet long, and two 
of Kome. hundred wide, and commenced the still greater 
structures known as the Basilica Julia and Curia Julia. 
The Forum Romanum was seven hundred feet by four hun- 
dred and seventy, surrounded with basilica, halls, porticoes, 
temples, and shops — the centre of architectural splendor, as 
well as of life and business and pleasure. Augustus restored 
the Capitoline Temple, finished the Forum and Basilica Julia, 
built the Curia Julia, and founded the imperial palace on the 
Palatine, and erected many temples, the most beautiful of 
which was that of Apollo, with columns of African marble, 
and gates of ivory finely sculptured. He also erected the 
Forum Augusti, the theatre of Marcellus, capable of holding 
twenty thousand spectators, and that mausoleum which con- 
tained the ashes of the imperial family to the time of Had- 
rian, at the entrance of which were two Egyptian obelisks. 
It was the boast of this emperor, that he found the city of 
brick and left her of marble. But great and beautiful as 
Home was in the Augustan era, enriched not only by his 
own munificence, but by the palaces and baths which were 
erected by his ministers and courtiers, — tlOe Pantheon, the 
Baths of Agrippa, the Gardens of Maecenas, — it was not until 
other em23erors erected the Imperial Palace, the Flarian 
Amphitheatre, the Forum Trajanun, the Basilica Ulpia, the 
Temple of Venus and Pome, the Baths of Caracalla, the 
Arches of Septimius Severus and Trajan, and other wonders, 
that the city became so astonishing a wondei*, with its pal- 



Chap. XXXVII.] The Wealth of Senators. 479 

aces, theatres, amphitheatres, baths, fountains, bronze statues 
of emperors and generals, so numerous and so grand, that 
we are warranted in believing its glories, like its population, 
surpassed those of both Paris and London combined. 

And this capital and this empire seemed to be the domain 
of one man, so vast his power, so august his dignity, absolute 
master of the lives and property of one hundred and ^^^^ .^ 
twenty millions, for the people were now deprived "^^ master. 
of the election of magistrates and the creation of laws. How 
could the greatest nobles otherwise than cringe to the supreme 
captain of the armies, the prince of the Senate, and the high- 
priest of the national divinities — himself, the recipient of hon- 
ors only paid to gods ! But Augustus kept up the forms of 
the old republic — all the old offices, the old dignities, the old 
festiA^als, the old associations. The Senate, prostrate and 
powerless, still had external dignity, like the British House 
of Peers. There were six hundred senators, each of whom 
possessed more than one million two hundred thousand ses- 
terces — about $50,000, when that sum must have represented 
an amount equal to a million of dollars in gold, at the present 
time, and some of whom had an income of one thousand 
pounds a day, the spoil of the provinces they had adminis- 
tered. 

The Roman Senate, so august under the republic, still con- 
tinued, with crippled legislative powers, to wield Roman 
important functions, since the ordinary official ^'^^^^' 
business was performed by them. The provinces were gov- 
ei'ned by men selected from senatorial ranks. They wore the 
badges of distinction ; they had the best places in the circus 
and theatre; they banqueted in the caj^itol at the public 
charge ; they claimed the right to elect emperors. 

The equestrian order also continued to farm the revenues 
of the provinces, and to furnish judges. The The eques- 
knights retained external decorations, were re- *'"'^°^- 
quired to possess property equal to one-third of the senators, 
and formed an aristocratic class. 

The consuls, too, ruled, but with delegated powers from the 



480 Boman Civilization, [Cuap. xxxvii. 

emperor. They were his eyes, and ears, and voice, and 
hands ; but neither political experience nor military 

The consuls. . . , tx? >• r j.r. ai 

services were required as quaiincations oi the omce. 
They wore the wreath of laurel on their brow, the striped 
robe of white and purple, and were attended with lictors. 
All citizens made way for them, and dismounted when they 
passed, and rose in their presence. The praetors, too, con- 
tinued to be the supreme judges, and the quaestors regulated 
the treasury. The tribunes existed also, but without their 
former independence. The prefect of the city was a new 
office, and overshadowed all other offices — appointed by the 
emperor as his lieutenant, his most efficient executive min- 
ister, his deputy in his absence from the city. 

A standing army, ever the mark of despotism, became an 
imperial institution. At the head of this army 

e army. ^^^^ ^^^ prsetorian guards, who protected the per- 
son of the emperor, and had double pay over that of the 
ordinary legionaries. They had a regular camp outside the 
city, and were always on hand to suppress tumults. Twenty- 
five legions were regarded as sufficient to defend the empire, 
and each legion was composed of six thousand one hundred 
foot and seven hundred and twenty-six horse. They were 
recruited with soldiers from the countries beyond Italy. 
Auxiliary troops were equal to the legions, and all together 
numbered three hundred and forty thousand — the standing 
army of the empire, stationed in the different provinces. 
Naval armaments were also established in the different seas 
and in great frontier rivers. 

The revenue for this great force, and the general expenses 
of the government, were derived from the public domains, 
from direct taxes, from mines and quarries, from salt works, 
fisheries and forests, from customs and excise, from the suc- 
cession to property, from enfranchisement of slaves. 

The monarchy instituted by Augustus, in all but the name, 
Folic of "^^^ ^ political necessity. Pompey would have 
Augustus, ruled as the instrument of the aristocracy, but he 
would only have been primus inter pares / Caesar recognized 



Chap. XXXVII.] Policy of Augustus, 481 

the people as the basis of sovereignty ; Augustus based his 
power on an organized military establishment, of which he 
was the permanent head. All the soldiers swore personal 
fealty to him — all the officers were appointed by him, directly 
or indirectly. But he paid respect to ancient traditions, 
forms, and magistracies, especially to the dignity of the Sen- 
ate, and thus vested his military power, which was his true 
power, under the forms of an aristocracy, which was the gov- 
erning power before the constitution was subverted. 

It need scarcely be said that the great mass of the people 
were indifferent to these political changes. The horrors of 
the Marian and Sullan revolutions, the struggles of Caesar 
and Pompey, and the awful massacres of the triumvirs had 
alarmed and disgusted all classes, and they sought repose, 
security, and peace. Any government which would repress 
anarchy was, to them, the best. They wished to be spared 
from executions and confiscations. The great enfranchisement 
of foreign slaves, also, degraded the people, and made them 
indifferent to the masters who should rule over them. All 
races were mingled with Roman citizens. The spoliation of 
estates in the civil wars cast a blight oft agriculture, and the 
population had declined from war and misery. 

Augustus, intrenched by military power, sought to revive 
not merely patrician caste, but religious customs, jngt^j^tjo^g 
which had declined. Temples were erected, and of Augustus, 
the shrines of gods were restored. Marriage was encouraged,, 
and the morals of the people were regulated by sumptuary 
laws. Severe penalties were enacted against celibacy, %<Sf 
which the people had been led by the increasing proftigaoj 
of the times, and the expenses of living. Restrictions were- 
placed on the manumission of slaves. The personal habits 
of the iraperator were simple, but dignified. His mansion 
on the Palatine was moderate in size. His dress was that of 
a senator, and woven by the hands of Livia and her maidens. 
He was courteous, sober, decorous, and abstemious. His 
guests were chosen for their social qualities. Virgil and 
Horace, plebeian poets, were received at his table, as well as 
31 



482 Roman Civilization. [Chap, xxxvir. 

Pollio and Messala. He sought to guard morals, and revive 
ancient traditions. He was jealous only of those who would 
not flatter him. He freely spent money for games and festi- 
vals, and secured peace and plenty within the capital, where 
he reigned supreme. The people felicitated themselves on 
the appearance of unbounded prosperity, and servile poets 
sung the praises of the emperor as if he were a god. 

And, to all appearance, Rome was the most favored spot 
upon the globe. Yast fleets brought corn from Gaul, Spain, 
Roman Sicily, Sardinia, Africa, and Egypt, to feed the four 

commerce, millions of people who possessed the world. The 
capital was the emporium of all the luxuries of distant prov- 
inces. Spices from the East, ivory, cotton, silk, pearls, dia- 
monds, gums thither flowed, as well as corn, oil, and wine. 
A vast commerce gave unity to the empire, and brought all 
the great cities into communication with each other and with 
Rome — the mighty mistress of lands and continents, the 
directress of armies, the builder of roads, the civilizer and 
conservator of all the countries which she ruled with her iron 
hand. There was general security to commerce, as well as 
property. There were order and law, wherever proconsular 
power extended. The great highways, built originally for 
military purposes, extending to every part of the empire, and 
crossing mountains and deserts, and forests and marshes, and 
studded with pillars and post-houses, contributed vastly to 
the civilization of the world. 

At this time, Rome herself, though not so large and splen- 
did as in subsequent periods, was the most attractive place 
on earth. Seven aqueducts already brought water to the 
city, some over stone arches, and some by subterranean pipes. 
The sepulchres of twenty generations lined the great roads 
which extended from the capital to the provinces. As these 
roads approached the city, they became streets, and the 
Eesidences houses wcrc densc and continuous. The seven oria;i- 
ity. nal hills were covered with palaces and temples, 

while the valleys were centres of a great population, in which 
were the forums, the suburra, the quarter of the shops, the cir- 



Chap, xxxvit] Grandeur of Bome, 483 

cus, and the velabrum. The Palatine, especially, was occupied 
by the higher nobility. Here were the famous mansions of 
Drusus, of Crassus, of Cicero, of Clodius, of Scauru!?, and of 
Augustus, together with the temples of Cybele, of Juno Sos- 
pita, of Luna, of Febris, of Fortune, of Mars, and Yesta. On 
the Capitoline were the Arx, or citadel, and the temple of 
Jupiter. On the Pincian Hill were villas and gardens, includ- 
ing those of Lucullus and Sallust. Every available inch of 
ground in the suburra and velabrum w^as filled with dwell- 
ings, rising to great altitudes, even to the level of the Capi- 
toline summit. The temples were all constructed after the 
Grecian models. The houses of the great were of immense 
size. The suburbs were of extraordinary extent. The pop- 
ulation exceeded that of all modern cities, although it has 
been, perhaps, exaggerated. It was computed by Lipsius to 
reach the enormous number of four millions. Nothing could 
be more crowded than the streets, whose incessant din was 
intolerable to those who sought repose. And they were 
filled with idlers, as well as trades-people, and artisans and 
slaves. All classes sought the excitement of the theater and 
circus — all repaired to the public baths. The amphitheatres 
collected, also, unnumbered thousands within their walls to 
witness the combats of beasts with man, and man with man. 
The gladiatorial sports were the most exciting Amusements 

,.,. . - , . . ' of the aris- 

exniDitions ever known m ancient or modern times, tocracy. 
and were the most striking features of Roman society. The 
baths, too, resounded with shouts and laughter, with the 
music of singers and of instruments, and even the recita- 
tions of poets and lecturers. The luxurious Roman rose with 
the light of day, and received, at his levee, a crowd of clients 
and retainers. He then repaired to the forum, or was carried 
through the crowds on a litter. Here he presided as a judg«, 
or appeared as a witness or advocate, or transacted his busi- 
ness afiairs. At twelve, the work of the day ceased, and he 
retired for his midday siesta. When this had ended, he 
recreated himself with the sports of the Field of Mars, and 
then repaired to the baths, after which was the supper, or 



484 Roman Civilization, [Chap, xxxvii. 

principal meal, in which he indulged in the coarsest luxuries, 
valued more for the cost than the elegance. He reclined at 
table, on a luxurious couch, and was served by slaves, who 
carA^ed for him, and filled his cup, and poured water into his 
hand after every remove. He ate Avithout knives or forks, 
with his fingers only. The feast was beguiled by lively con- 
versation, or music and dancing. 

At this period, the literature of Rome reached its highest 
purity and terseness. Livy, the historian, secured the friend- 
Roman lit- ^^^^P ^^ Augustus, and his reputation was so high 
erature. \\\,2X an enthusiastic Spaniard traveled from Cadiz 
on purpose to see him, and having gratified his curiosity, im- 
mediately returned home. He took the dry chronicles of his 
country, drew forth from them the poetry of the old tradi- 
tions, and incited a patriotic spirit. A friend of the old oli- 
garchy, an aristocrat in all his prejudices and habits, he 
heaped scorn on tribunes and demagogues, and veiled the 
despotism of his imperial master. Virgil also inflamed 
the patriotism of his countrymen, while he flattered the 
tyrant in whose sunshine he basked. Patronized by Maecen- 
as, countenanced by Octavius, he sung the praises of law, 
of order, and of tradition, and attempted to revive an age of 
faith, a love of agricultural life, a taste for the simplicities of 
better days, and a veneration of the martial virtues of heroic 
times. Horace ridiculed and rebuked the vices of his age, and 
yet obtained both riches and honors. His matchless wit and 
transcendent elegance of style have been admired by every 
scholar for nearly two thousand years. Propertius and Tibul- 
lus,and Ovid, also adorned this age, never afterward equaled 
by the labors of men of genius. Literature and morals went 
hand in hand as corruption accomplished its work. The age 
of Augustus saw the highest triumph in literature that Rome 
was destined to behold. Imperial tyranny was fatal to that 
independence of spirit without which all literature languishes 
and dies. But the limit of this work will not permit an 
extended notice of Roman civilization. This has been at- 
tempted by the author in another work. 




Fold-oi 
Placehol 



-ruir- ^rrslA r^it¥ ic hoi nn HlnltiyPfl. aflG 



SIX C^SARS. 



Balbua. 



IS Marcellus = Octavia = M. Antoniua, 
Triumvir. 



Claudius Marcellus, 



nor;. 



Antonia (Major) = L. Domitius, 
I called 



s Drusus Oaasar, 
5th Emperor. 



Ahenobarbus. 



)arbu3. 



•great-grandson of Augustus and Antony. 

ro, also of Octavia and Antony. 

.s. grandson of Agrippina No. 1 and Germanicus, also of 

gtistus. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

THE SIX C^SABS OF THE JULIAN LINE. 

We have alluded to the centralization of political power 
in the person of Octavius. He simply retained all the great 
offices of State, and ruled, not so much by a new title, as he 
did as consul, tribune, censor, pontifex maximus, and chief 
of the Senate. But these offices were not at once bestowed. 

His reign may be said to have commenced on the final 
defeat of his rivals, b. c. 29. Two years later, he received 
the title of Augustus, by which he is best known in history, 
although he was ordinarily called Caesar. That proud name 
never lost its pre-eminence. 

The first part of the reign was memorable for the organi- 
zation of the State, and especially of the army ; and also for 
the means he used to consolidate his empire. Augustus had 
no son, and but one daughter, although married three times. 
His first wife was Clodia, dauo-hter of Clodius ; his rru 

' o ' The wivea 

second was Scribonia, sister-in-law of Sextus Pom- of Augustus. 
pey ; and the third was Livia Drusilla. The second wife was 
the mother of his daughter, Julia. This daughter was mar- 
ried to M. Claudius Marcellus, son of Marcellus and Octavia, 
the divorced wife of Antonius, and sister of Octavius. M. 
Claudius Marcellus thus married his cousin, but died two 
years afterward. It was to his honor that Augustus built 
the theatre of Marcellus. 

On the death of Marcellus, Augustus married his daughter 
Julia to Agrippa, his prime minister and principal lieutenant. 
The issue of this mari'iage were three sons and The family 
two daughters. The sons died early. The young- "f^^^F^stus. 
est daughter, Agrippina, married Germanicus, and was the 



486 The First Six Ccesars. [CitAP. xxxviii. 

mother of the emperor Caligula. The marriage of Agrippina 
with Germanicus united the lines of Julia and Livia, the two 
last wives of Augustus, for Germanicus was the son of Dru- 
sus, the younger son of Livia by her first husband, Tiberius 
Claudius Nero. The eldest son of Livia, by Tiberius Claudi- 
us Nero, was the emperor Tiberius Nero, adopted by Augus- 
tus. Drusus married Antonia, the daughter of Antonius the 
triumvir, and was the father, not only of Germanicus, but 
of Claudius Drusus Csesar, the fifth emperor. Another 
daughter of Antonius, also called Antonia, married L. Domi- 
tius Ahenobarbus, whose son married Agrippina, the mother 
of Nero. Thus the descendants of Octavia and Antony be- 
came emperors, and were intertwined with the lines of Julia 
and Livia. The four successors of Augustus were all, in the 
male line, sprung from Livia's first husband, and all, except 
Tiberius, traced their descent from the defeated triumvir. 
Only the first six of the twelve Caesars had relationship with 
the Julian house. 

I mention this genealogy to show the descent of the first six 
emperors from Julia, the sister of Julius Caesar, and grand- 
mother of Augustus. Although the first six emperors were 
elected, they all belonged to the Julian house, and were the 
heirs of the great Caesar. 

When the government was organized, Augustus left the 
Maecenas ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ Capital to Maecenas, his minister of 
andAgrippa. Q\y\\ affiurs, and departed for Gaul, to restore order 
in that province, and build a series of fortifications to the 
Danube, to check the encroachments of barbarians. The 
region between the Danube and the Alps was peopled by 
various tribes, of difierent names, who gave perpetual trouble 
to the Romans ; but they were now apparently subdued, and 
the waves of barbaric conquest were stayed for three hun- 
dred years. Yindelicia and Rhaetia were added to the em- 
pire, in a single campaign, by Tiberius and Drusus, the sons 
of Livia — the emperor's beloved wife. Agrippa returned 
shortly after from a successful war in the East, but sickened 
and died b. a 12. By his death Julia was again a widow, and 



Chap. XXXVIII.] The Teutonic Baces, 487 

was given in marriage to Tiberius, whom Augustus after- 
ward adopted as his successor. Drusus, his brother, re- 
mained in Gaul, to complete the subjugation of the Celtic 
tribes, and to check the incurs;ions of the Germans, who, 
from that time, were the most formidable enemies of Rome. 
What interest is attached to those Teutonic races who 
uliim.itely became the conquerors of the empire ! ^j 
They were more warlike, persevering, and hardy, ic races. 
than the Celts, who had been incorporated with the empire. 
Tacitus has painted their simple manners, their passionate 
love of independence, and their religious tendency of mind. 
They occupied those vast plains and forests which lay be- 
tween the Rhine, the Danube, the Vistula, and the German 
Ocean. Under different names they invaded the Roman 
world — the Suevi, the Franks, the Alemanni, the Burgund- 
ians, the Lombards, the Goths, the Vandals ; but had not, at 
the time of Augustus, made those vast combinations which 
threatened immediate danger. They were a pastoral people, 
with blue eyes, ruddy hair, and large stature, trained to 
cold, to heat, to exposure, and to fatigue. Their strength 
lay in their infantr}^, which was well armed, and their usual 
order of battle was in the form of a wedge. They were 
accompanied even in war with their wives and children, and 
their women had peculiar virtue and influence. They in- 
spired that reverence which never passed away from the 
Germanic nations, producing in the Middle Ages the graces 
of chivalry. All these various tribes had the same peculiar- 
ities, among which reverence was one of the most marked. 
They were not idol worshipers, but worshiped God in the 
form of the sun, moon, and stars, and in the silence of their 
majestic groves. Odin was their great traditional hero, 
whom they made an object of idolatry. War was their 
great occupation, and the chase was their principal recrea- 
tion and pleasure. Tacitus enumerates as many as fifty 
tribes of these brave warriors, who feared not death, and 
even gloried in their losses. The most powerful of these 
tribes, in the time of Augustus was the confederation of the 



488 The First Six Ccesars. [Cuap. xxxvi;r. 

Suevi, occupying half of Germany, from the Danube to the 
Baltic. Of this confederation the Cauci were the most 
powerful, living on the banks of the Elbe, and obtaining a 
precarious living. In close connection with them were the 
Saxons and Longobardi (Long-beards). On the shores of 
the Baltic, between the Oder and the Vistula, were the 
Goths. 

The arms of Caesar and Augustus had as yet been only 
felt by the smaller tribes on the ricrht bank of the 
Rhino, and these were assailed by Drusus, but only 
to secure his flank during the greater enterprise of sailing 
down the Khine, to attack the people of the maritime plains. 
Great feats Avere performed by this able step-son of Augus- 
tus, who advanced as far as the Elbe, but was mortally 
injured by a fall from his horse. He lingered a month, and 
died, to the universal regret of the Romans, for he was the 
ablest general sent against the barbarians since Julius Caesar, 
B. c. 9. The eflTect of his various campaigns was to check 
the inroads of the Germans for a century. It was at this 
time that the banks of the Rhine were studded by the 
forts which subsequently became those picturesque towns 
which now command the admiration of travelers. 

After the death of Drusus, to whose memory a beautiful 
triumphal arch was erected, Tiberius was sent against the 
German :«, and after successful warfire, at the age of forty, 
obtained the permission of Augustus to retire to Rhodes, in 
order to improve his mind by the study of philosophy, or, 
as it is supposed by many historians, from jealousy of Caius 
and Lttcius Csesar, the children of Jtilia and Agrippa — those 
young princes to whom the throne of the world was appar- 
ently destined. At Rhodes, Tiberius, now the ablest man 
in the empire, for both Agrippa and Maecenas were 
dead, live 1 in simple retirement for seven years. But the 
levities of Julia, to which Augustus could not be blind, com- 
Banisbment P^^^^^ ^^^ to bauish her — his only daughter — to 
of Julia. i\^^ Campanian coast, where she died neglected 
and impoverished. The emperor was so indignant in view 



Chap. XXXVIII.] Sadness of Augustus. 489 

of her disgraceful conduct, that he excluded her from any 
inheritance. The premature death of her sons nearly broke 
the heart of their grandfather, bereft of the wise councils and 
pleasant society of his great ministers, and bending under 
the weight of the vast empire which he, as the heir of 
Caesar, had received. The loss of his grandsons compelled 
the emperor to provide for his succession, and he turned his 
eyes to Tiberius, his step-son, who was then at Rhodes. 
He adopted him as his successor, and invested him with the 
tribunitian power. But, while he selected him as his heir, 
he also required him to adopt Germanicus, the son of his 
brother Drusus. 

Another great man now appeared upon the stage, L. Dorai- 
tius Ahenobarbus, the son-in-law of Octavia and Antony, 
who was intrusted with the war against the Germanic tribes, 
and who was the first Roman pjeneral to cross the Domitius 

Aheno- 

Elbe. He was the grandfather of N'ero. But Ti- burbus. 
berius was sent to supersede him, and following the plan of 
his brother Drusus, he sent a flotilla down the Rhine, with 
orders to ascend the Elbe, and meet his army at an appointed 
rendezvous, which was then regarded as a great military feat, 
in the face of such foes as the future conquerors of Rome. 
After this Tiberius was occupied in reconquering the wide 
region between the Adriatic and the Danube, known as 
Illyricum, which occupied him three years, a. d. 7-9. In 
this war he was assisted by his nephew and adopted son, 
Germanicus, whose brilliant career revived the hope which 
had centred in Drusus. 

Meanwhile Augustus, wearied with the cares of State, pro- 
voked by the scandals which his daughter occasioned, and 
irritated by plots against his life, began to relax his attention 
to business, and to grow morose. It was then that he banished 
Ovid, whose Tristia made a greater sensation than his immor- 
tal Metamorphoses. The disaster which befel Yarns with a 
Roman army, in the forest of Teutoburg, near the pjsaster of 
river Lippe, when thirty thousand men were cut to ^a^''^^- 
pieces by the Germans under Arminius (Hermann), completed 



490 The First Six Cmsars. [Chap. xxxviii. 

the humiliation of Augustus, for, in this defeat, he must have 
foreseen the future victories of the barbarians. All ideas of 
extending the empire beyond the Rhine were now visionary, 
and that river was henceforth to remain its boundary on the 
north. New levies were indeed dispatched to the Rhine, 
and Tiberius and Germanicus led the forces. But the princes 
returned to Rome without effecting important results. 

Soon after, in the year A. d. 14, Augustus died, in his seventy- 
seventh year, after a reign of forty-four years from the battle 
of Actium, and fifty from the triumvirate — one of the longest 
reigns in history, and one of the most successful. From his 
Death of nineteenth year he was prominent on the stage of 
Augustus. I^oman public life. Under his auspices the empire 
reached the Elbe, and Egypt was added to its provinces. He 
planted colonies in every province, and received from the 
Parthians the captured standards of Crassus. His fleets navi- 
gated the Northern Ocean ; his armies reduced the Paimo- 
nians andlllyrians. He added to the material glories of his 
capital, and sought to secure peace throughout the world. 
He was both munificent and magnificent, and held the reins 
of government with a firm hand. He was cultivated, unos- 
tentatious, and genial ; but ambitious, and versed in all the 
arts of dissimulation and kingcraft. But he was a great 
monarch, and ruled with signal ability. After the battle of 
Character of Actium, his wars were chiefly with the barba- 
Augustus. rians, and his greatest generals were members of 
the imperial family. That he could have reigned so long, in 
such an age, with so many enemies, is a proof of his wisdom 
and moderation, as well as of his good fortune. That he 
should have triumphed over such generals as Brutus, and 
Antonius, and Sextus — representing the old parties of the 
republic, is unquestionable evidence of transcendent ability. 
But his great merit was his capacity to rule, to organize, and 
to civilize. He is one of the best types of a sovereign ruler 
that the world has seen. It is nothing against him, that, in 
his latter years, there were popular discontents. Such gen- 
erally happen at the close of all long reigns, as in the case of 



Chap, xxxviii-i Aocesszon of Tih&rius, 491 

Solomon and Louis XIY. And yet, the closing years of his 
reign were melancholy, like those of the French monarch, in 
view of the extinction of literary glories, and the passing 
away of the great lights of the age, without the appearance 
of new stars to take then- place. But this was not the fault 
of Augustus, whose intellect expanded with his fortunes, and 
whose magnanimity grew with his intellect — a man who 
comprehended his awful mission, and who discharged his 
trusts with dignity and self-reliance. 

Tiberius Caesar, the third of the Roman emperors, found 
no opposition to his elevation on the death of Augustus. He 
ascended the throne of the Roman world at the mature age 
of fifty-six, after having won great reputation both as a 
statesman and a general. He was probably the most capable 
man in the empire, and in spite of all his faults, the empire 
was never better administered than by him. His great mis- 
fortune and fault was the suspicion of his nature, which 
made him the saddest of mankind, and finally, a monster of 
cruelty. 

Like Augustus, he veiled his power as emperor by assuming 
the old ofiices of the republic. A subservient Senate and peo- 
ple favored the consolidation of the new despotism Tiberius 
to which the world was now accustomed, and with power. 
which it cheerfally acquiesced as the best government for the 
times. The last remnant of popular elections was abolished, 
and the Comitia was transferred from the Campus Martins 
to the Senate, who elected the candidate proposed by the 
emperor. 

The first year of the accession of Tiberius was marked by 
mutinies in the legions, which were quelled by his nephew 
Germanicus, whose popularity was boundless, even 

' ^ ^ *' , . Germanicus. 

as his feats had been heroic. This young prmce, 
on whom the hopes of the empire rested, had married Agrip- 
pina, the daughter of Julia and Agrippa, and traced through 
his mother Antonia, and grandmother Octavia, a direct 
descent from Julia, the sister of the dictator. The blood of 
Antony also ran in his veins, as well as that of Livia. His 



492 The First Six CcBsars. [Chap. xxxviii. 

wife was worthy of him, and was devotedly attached to him. 
By this marriage the lines of Julia and Livia were united ; 
and by his descent from Antony the great parties of the 
revolution were silenced. He was equally the heir of Au- 
gustus and of Antonius, of Julia and of Livia ; and of all the 
chiefs of Roman history no one has been painted in fairer 
colors. Tn natural ability, in military heroism, in the virtues 
of the heart, in exalted rank, he had no equal. As consul, 
general, and governor, he called forth universal admiration. 
His mind was also highly cultivated, and he excelled in 
Greek and Latin verse, while his condescending and cour- 
teous manners won both soldiers and citizens. 

Of such a man, twenty-nine yearsof age, Tiberius was nat- 
urally jealous, especially since, through his wife, Germanicus 
Jealousy of ^^^ allied with the Octavian fimilv, and through his 
Tiberius. mother, with the sister of the great Julius ; and, 
therefore, had higher claims than he, on the principle of legiti- 
macy. Pie was only the adopted son of Octavius, but German- 
icus, through his mother Antonia, had the same ancestry as 
Octavius himself. Moreover, the cries of the legionaries, 
" Caesar Germanicus will not endure to be a subject," added 
to the fears of the emperor, that he would be supplanted. 
So he determined to send his nephew on distant and dan- 
gerous expeditions, against those barbarians who had defeated 
Varus. 

Germanicus, no sooner than he had quelled the sedition in 
his camp, set out for Germany with eight legions and an 
equal number of auxiliaries. With this large force he crossed 
the Rhine, revisited the scene of the slaughter of Varus, and 
paid funeral honors to the remains of the fallen Romans. 
But the campaigns were barren of results, although attended 
with great expenses. No fortresses were erected to check 
the return of the barbarians from the places where they had 
been dislodi^ed, and no roads were made to expedite future 
The cam- expeditions. Germanicus carried on war in sav- 

paign of • T . 

Germanicus. age and barbarous tracts, amid innumerable 
obstacles, which tasked his resources to the utmost. Tibe- 



Chap. XXXVIII.] Germanicus. 493 

rius was dissatisfied with these results, and vented his 
ill-humor in murmurs against his nephew. The Roman 
people were oiFended at this jealousy, and clamored for 
his recall. Germanicus, however, embarked on a third cam- 
paign, A. D. 15, with renewed forces, and confronted the Ger- 
mans on the Weser, and crossed the river in the face of the 
enemy. There the Romans obtained a great victory over 
Arminius, leader of the barbaric hosts, who retreated be- 
yond the Elbe. The great German confederacy was, for a 
time, dispersed. Germanicus himself retired to the banks of 
the Rhine — which became the final boundary of the empire 
on the side of Germany. The hero who had persevered 
against innumerable obstacles, in overcoming which the dis- 
cipline and force of the Roman legions were never more 
apparent, not even under Julius Caesar, was now recalled to 
Rome, and a triumph was given him, amid the wildest enthu- 
siasm of the Roman people. The young hero was tj..^^ ^^^ 
the great object of attraction, as he was borne Germanicus. 
along in his triumphal chariot, surrounded by the five male 
descendants of his union with Agrippina — his faithful and 
heroic wife. Tiberius, in the name of his adopted son, 
bestowed three hundred sesterces apiece upon all the citizens, 
and the Senate chose the popular favorite as consul for the 
ensuing year, in conjunction with the emperor himself. 

Troubles in the East induced Tiberius to send Germanicus 
to Asia Minor, while Drusus was sent to lUyricum. This 
prince was the son of Tiberius by his first wife, 
Yipsania, and was the cousin of Germanicus. He 
was disgraced by the vices of debauchery and cruelty, and 
was finally poisoned by his wife, Livilla, at the instance of 
Sejanus. So long as Germanicus lived, the court was divided 
between the parties of Drusus and Germanicus, and Tiberius 
artfully held the balance of favor between them, taking care 
not to d«^clare which should be his successor. But Drusus 
was, probably, the favorite of the emperor, although greatly 
inferior to the elder prince in every noble .quality. Tiberius, 
in sending him to Illyricum, wished to remove him from the 



494 The First Six Ccesars. [Chap. xxxviii. 

dissipations of the capital, and also, to place a man in that 
important post who should be loyal to his authority. 

In appointing Germanicus to the chief command of the 
provinces beyond the ^gean, Tiberius also gave the prov- 
ince of Syria to Cnseus Piso, of the illustrious Calpurnian 
house, one of the proudest and most powerful of 
the Roman nobles. His wife, Plancina was the 
favorite of Livia, — the empress-mother, — and he believed 
himself appointed to the government of Syria for the purpose 
of checking the ambitious designs which were imputed to Ger? 
manicus, while his wife was instructed to set up herself as a 
rival to Agrippina. The moment Piso quitted Italy, he 
began to thwart his superior, and to bring his authority into 
contempt. Yet he was treated by Germanicus with marked 
kindness. After visiting the famous cities of Greece, Ger- 
manicus marched to the frontiers of Armenia to settle its 
affairs with the empire — the direct object of his mission. He 
crowned a prince, called Zeno, as monarch of that country, 
reduced Cappadocia, and visited Egypt, a]3parently to exam- 
ine the political affairs of the province, but really to study 
its antiquities, even as Scipio had visited Sicily in the heat 
of the Punic war. For thus going out of his way, he was 
rebuked by the emperor. He then retraced his steps, and 
shaped his course to Syria, where he found his regulations 
and appointments had been overruled by Piso, between whom 
and himself bitter altercations ensued. While in Syria, he 
Death of ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ died, and his illness was attributed to 
Germanicus. poigon administered by Piso, although there was 
little evidence to support the charge. 

The death of Germanicus was received with great grief by 
the Roman people, and the general sorrow of the Roman 
world, and his praises were pronounced in every quarter. 
He was even fondly compared to Alexander the Great. His 
character was embellished by the greatest master of pathos 
Funeral of amoug the Romau authors, and invested with a 
Germanicus. gleam of mournful splendor. His remains were 
brought to Rome by his devoted wife, and the most splendid 



Chap. XXXVIII.] Funeral of GermaniGus. 495 

funeral honors were accorded to him. Drusus, with the 
younger brother and children of Germanicus, went forth to 
meet the remains, and the consuls, the Senate, and a large 
concourse of people, swelled the procession, as it neared the 
city. The precious ashefe were deposited in the Caesarian 
mausoleum, and the memory of the departed prince was 
cherished in the hearts of the people. Whether he would 
have realized the expectations formed of him, had he lived 
to succeed Tiberius, can not be known. He, doubtless, had 
most amiable traits of character, while his talents were 
undoubted. But he might have succumbed to the tempta- 
tions incident to _the most august situation in the world, or 
have been borne down by its pressing cares, or have 
shown less talent for administration than men disg-raced 
by private vices. Had Tiberius died before Au- Abie admin- 

T • 1 1 T 1 T • T istration of 

gustus, nis character would have appeared in the Tiberius. 
most favorable light, for he was a man of great abilities, 
and was devoted to the interests of the empire. He became 
moody, suspicious, and cruel, and yielded to the pleasures so 
lavishly given to the master of the world. When we remem- 
ber the atmosphere of lies in which he lived, — as is the case 
with all absolute monarchs, especially in venal and corrupt 
times, — the unbounded temptations, the servile and syco- 
phantic attentions of his courtiers, the perpetual vexations and 
cares incident to such overgrown and unlimited powers, and 
the disgust, satiety, and contempt which his experiences en- 
gendered, we can not wonder that his character should change 
for the worse. And when we see a man rendered uninterest- 
ing and unamiable by cares, temptations, and bursts of pas- 
sion or folly, yet who still governs vigilantly and ably, our 
indignation should be modified, when the lower propensities 
are indulged. It is not pleasant to palliate injustices, tyran- 
nies, and lusts. But human nature, at the best, is weak. Of 
all men, absolute princes claim a charitable judgment, and 
our eyes should be directed to their services, rather than to 
their defects. These remarks not only pertain to Tiberius, 
but to Augustus, and many other emperors who have been 



496 Tlie First Six CcBsars, [Chap, xxxviii. 

harshly estimated, but whose general ability and devotion 
to the interests of the empire are undoubted. How few mon- 
archs have been free from the stains of occasional excesses, 
and that arbitrary and tyrannical character which unlimited 
powers develop ! Even the crimes of monsters, whom we 
execrate, are to be traced to madness and intoxication, more 
than to natural fierceness and wickedness. But when mon- 
Exceiience archs clo reign in justice, and conquer the tempta- 
riai rule. tioiis incident to their station, like the Antonines, 
then our reverence becomes profound. " Heavy is the head, 
that wears a crown." Kings are objects of our sympathy, as 
well as of our envy. Their burdens are as heavy as their 
temptations are great ; and frivolous or wicked princes are 
almost certain to yield, like Nero or Caligula, to the evils 
with which they are peculiarly surrounded. 

But to return to our narrative of the leading events con- 
nected with the reign of Tiberius, one of the ablest of all the 
emperors, so far as administrative talents are concerned. 
After the death of Germanicus, which was probably natural, 
the vengeance of the people and the court was directed to 
his supposed murderer, Piso. He was arraigned and tried by 
the Senate, not only for, the crime of which he was accused 
by the family of Germanicus, who thought himself poisoned, 
but for. exceeding his powers as governor of Syria, which 
province he continued unwisely to claim. Tiberius abstained 
from all interference with the great tribunal which sat in 
judgment. He even checked the flow of popular feeling. 
Cold and hard, he allowed the trial to take its course, with- 
out betraying sympathy or aversion, and acted with great 
impartiality. Piso found no favor from the Senate or the 
emperor, and killed himself when his condemnation was 
certain. 

Relieved by the death of Germanicus and Piso, Tiberius 
Tiberius bcs^au to reisfu more despoticallv, and incurred the 

becomes a , t ^ . 

tyrant, hatred of the people, to which he was apparently 

insensible. He was greatly influenced by his mother, Livia, 
an artful and ambitious princess, and by Sejanus, his favor- 



Chap. XXXVIII.] Policy of Tihernts, 497 

ite, a man of rare energy and ability, who was prefect of the 
praetorian guards. This office, unknown to the republic, 
became the most important and influential under the emper- 
ors. The prefect was virtually the vizier, or prime minister, 
since it was his care to watch over the personal safety of a 
monarch whose power rested on the military. The instru- 
ments of his government, however, were the Sen- instruments 
ate, which he controlled especially by his power °^ tyranny, 
as censor, and the law of majestas, which was virtually a 
great system of espionage and public accusation, which the 
emperor encouraged. But his general administration was 
marked by prudence, equity, and mildness. Under him the 
Roman dominion was greatly consolidated, and it was his 
policy to guard rather than extend the limits of the empire. 
The legions were stationed in those provinces which were 
most likely to be assailed by external dangers, especially on 
the banks of the Rhine, in Illyricum, and Dalmatia. But 
they were scattered in all the provinces. The city of Rome 
was kept in order by the praetorian guards. Their discipUne 
was strenuously maintained. Governors of provinces were 
kept several years in office, which policy was jus- provincial 
tified by the apologue he was accustomed to use, g^^'^^^^o"- 
founded on the same principle as that which is recognized in 
all corrupt times by great administrators, whether of States, 
or factories, or railroads. " A number of flies had settled on 
a soldier's wound, and a compassionate passer-by was about 
to scare them away. The suffi^rer begged him to refrain. 
* These flies,' he said, 'have nearly sucked their full, and are 
beginning to be tolerable ; if you drive them away, they will 
be immediately succeeded by fresh-comers with keener 
appetites.' " The emperor saw the abuses which existed, 
but despaired to remedy them, since he distrusted human 
nature. But there is no doubt that the government of the 
provinces was improved under this prince, and the governors 
were made responsible. The emperor also was assiduous to 
free Italy from robbers and banditti, and in stimulating the 
diligence of the police, so that riots seldom occurred, and 
32 



498 The First Six Ccesars. [Chap. xxxviii. 

were severely punished. There was greater security of life and 
property throughout the empire, and the laws were wise and 
Keforms of effective. Tiberius limited the number of the gladi- 
Tibenus. ators, cxpclled the soothsayers from Italy, and sup- 
pressed the Egyptian rites. The habits of the people, eveip 
among the higher classes, were so generally disgraceful and 
immoral, — the dissipation was so widely spread, that Tibe- 
rius despaired to check it by sumptuary laws, but he restrain- 
ed it all in his power. lie was indefatigable in his vigilance. 
For several years he did not quit the din and dust of the city 
for a single day, and he lived with great simplicity, appar- 
ently anxious to exhibit the ancient ideal of a lioman states- 
man. He took no pleasure in the sports of the circus or 
theatre, and was absorbed in the cares of office, as Augustus 
had been before him. Augustus, however, was a man of 
genius, while he was only a man of ability, and his great 
defect was jealousy of the family of Germanicus, and the 
favor he lavished on Sejanus, who even demanded the hand 
of Livilla, the widow of Drusus, — a suit which Tiberius 
rejected. 

Weariness of the cares of State, and the desire of repose, 
at last induced Tiberius to retire from the city. He had 
neither happiness nor rest. He quarreled with Agrippina, 
the widow of Germanicus, and his temper was exasperated 
by the imputations and slanders from which no monarch can 
escape. His enemies, however, declared that he had no 
higher wish than to exercise in secret the cruelty and libidi- 
nousness to which he was abandoned. For eleven years he 
Tiberius ruled in the retirement of his guarded fortress, and 
hlmseSn nevcr again re-entered the city he had left in dis- 
Capreas. gust. But in tliis retirement, he did not relax his 
vigilance in the administration of affairs, although his gov- 
ernment was exceedingly unpopular, and was doubtless 
stained by many acts of cruelty. At Capreae, a small island 
near ISTaples, barren and desolate, but beautiful in climate 
and scenery, the master of the Avorld spent his latter years, 
surrounded with literary men and soothsayers. I do not 



Chap. XXXVIII.] Last Bays of Tiberius. 499 

believe the calumnies which have been heaped on this impe- 
rial misanthrope. And yet, the eleven years he spent in hia 
retreat were marked by great complaints against him, and 
by many revolting crimes and needless cruelties. He perse- 
cuted the family of Germanicus, banished Agrippina, and 
imprisoned her son, Drusus. Sejanus, however, 
instigated these proceedings, and worked upon the 
jealousy of the emperor. This favorite was affianced to Liv- 
illa, the widow of Drusus, and was made consul conjointly 
with Tiberius. 

Tiberius penetrated, at last, the character of this ambitious 
officer, and circumvented his ruin with that profound dissim- 
ulation which was one of his most marked traits. Sejanus 
conspired against his life, but the emperor shrank His conspir- 
from openly denouncing him to the Senate. He deatk 
used consummate craft in securing his arrest and execution, 
the instrument of which was Macro, an officer of his body- 
guard, and his death was followed by the ruin of his accom- 
plices and friends. 

Shortly after the execution of Sejanus, Drusus, the son of 
Agrippina, was starved to death in prison, and Death of 
many cruelties were inflicted on the friends of Se- ^^'"^'^^' 
janus. Tiberius now began to show signs of insanity, and 
his life henceforth was that of a miserable tyrant. His 
career began to draw to a close, and he found himself, in his 
fits of despair and wretchedness, supported by only three sur- 
viving members of the lineage of Caesar : Tiberius Claudius 
Drusus, the last of the sons of Drusus, and nephew of the 
emperor, infirm in health and weak in mind, who had been 
excluded from public afiairs ; Caius, the younger son of 
Germanicus, and Tiberius, the son of the second Drusus, 
— the one, grand-nephew, and the other, grandson of the 
emperor. Both were young; one twenty-five, the other 
eighteen. The. failing old man failed to designate either as 
his successor, but the voice of the public pointed out the son 
of Germanicus, nicknamed Caligula. At the age of seventy- 
eight, the tyrant died, unable in his last sickness to restrain 



500 The First Six Ccesars, [Chap. xxxviii. 

his appetite. He died at Misenum, on his way to Capreae, 
Death of which he had quitted for a time, to the joy of the 
Tibeiius. whole empire ; for his reign, in his latter years, 
was one of terror, which caused a deep gloom to settle upon 
the face of the higher society at Rome, a. d. 37. The body 
was carried to Rome with srreat pomp, and its 

Hisfuneral. , ^ . , . * i ^ i 

ashes were deposited m the mausoleum ot the 
Csesars. Cains was recognized as his successor without op- 
position, and he commenced his reign by issuing a general 
pardon to all State prisoners, and scattering, with promiscu- 
ous munificence, the vast treasures which Tiberius had 
accumulated. He assumed the collective honors of the 
empire with modesty, and great expectations were formed 
of a peaceful and honorable re'gn. 

Caligula was the heir of the Drusi, grandson of Julia and 
Agrippa, great-grandson of Octavius, of Livia, and of An- 
tony. In him the lines of Julia and Livia were united. His 
defects and vices were unknown to the people, and he made 
grand promises to the Senate. He commenced his reign by 
assiduous labors, and equitable measures, and jDrofessed to 
restore the golden age of Augustus. His popularity with 
the people was unbounded, from his lavish expenditure for 
shows and festivals, by the consecration of temples, and the 
distribution of corn and wine. 

But it was not long before he abandoned himself to the 
most extravagant debauchery. His brain reeled 
on the giddy eminence to which he had been ele- 
vated without previous training and experience. Augustus 
fought his own way to power, and Tiberius had spent the 
best years of his life in the public service before his elevation. 
Yet even he, with all his experience and ability, could not' 
resist the blandishments of power. How, then, could a giddy 
and weak young man, without redeeming "qualities ? He fell 
His infamous ii^to the vortcx of plcasurcs, and reeling in the 
pleasures. maduess wMcli excesses caused, was soon guilty of 
the wildest caprices, and the most cruel atrocities. He was 
corrupted by flattery as well as pleasure. He even de- 



Chap. XXXVIII.] Caligula. 501 

scended into the arena of the circus as a charioteer, and the 
races became a State institution. In a few months he 
squandered the savings of the previous reign, swept away 
the wholesome restraints which Aug-ustus and Tiberius had 
imposed upon gladiators, and carried on the sports of the 
amphitheatre with utter disregard of human life. His ex- 
travagance and his necessities led to the most orueity of 
wanton murders of senators and nobles whose ^^'^o*^^^- 
crime was their wealth. The most redeeming features of the 
first year of his reign were his grief at the death of his sister, 
his friendship with Herod Agrippa, to whom he gave a 
sovereignty in Palestine, and the activity he displayed in the 
management of his vast inheritance. He had a great passion 
for building, and completed the temple of Augustus, pro- 
jected the grandest of the Roman aqueducts, enlarged the 
imperial palace, and carried a viaduct from the Palatine to 
the Capitoline over the lofty houses of the Velabrum. But 
his prodigalities led to a most oppressive taxation, which 
soon alienated the people, while his senseless debaucheries, 
especially his costly banquets, disgusted the more contem- 
plative of the nobles. He was also disgraced by needless 
cruelties, and it Avas his exclamation : " Would that the 
people of Rome had but one neck !" His vanity was pre- 
posterous. He fancied himself divine, and insisted on divine 
honors being rendered to him. He systematically persecuted 
the nobles, and exacted contributions. He fancied himself, 
at one time an orator, and at another a general ; and abso- 
lutely led an army to the Rhine, when there was no enemy 
to attack. He married several wives, but divorced them 
with the most fickle inconstancy. 

It is needless to repeat the wanton follies of this young 
man who so outrageously disgraced the imperial jjjg madness 
station. The most charitable construction to be '^^^^^^'J'- 
placed upon acts which made his name infamous among the 
ancients is that his brain was turned by his elevation to a 
dignity for which he was not trained or disciplined — that 
unbounded power, united with the most extravagant aban- 



502 The First Six Gcesars. [Chap. xxxviii. 

donment to sensual pleasures, undermined his intellect. 
His caprices and extravagance can only be explained by 
partial madness. He had reigned but four years, and all 
Hisassassi- expectations of good government were dispelled, 
nation. rpj^g majcsty of the empire was insulted, and assas- 

sination, the only way by which he could be removed, freed 
the world from a madman, if not a monster. 

There was great confusion after the assassination of Caius 
Caesar, and ill-concerted efforts to recover a freedom which 
had fled forever, ending, as was to be expected, by military 
power. The consuls convened the Senate for deliberation 
(for the forms of the republic were still kept up), but no 
settled principles prevailed. Various forms of government 
were proposed and rejected. While the Senate deliberated, 
the praetorian guards acted. 

Among the inmates of the palace, in that hour of fear, 
among slaves and freed men, half hidden behind a curtain in 
an obscure corner, was a timid old man, who was 
dragged forth with brutal violence. He was no 
less a personage than Claudius, the neglected uncle of the 
emperor, the son of Drusus and Antonia, and nephew of 
Tiberius, and brother of Germanicus. Instead of slaying the 
old man, the soldiers, respecting the family of Caesar, hailed 
him, partly in jest, as imperator, and carried him to their 
camp. Claudius, heretofore thought to be imbecile, and 
therefore despised, was not unwilling to accept the dignity, 
and promised the praetorians, if they would swear allegiance 
to him, a donation of fifteen thousand sesterces apiece. The 
Senate, at the dictation of the praetorians, accepted Claudius 
as emperor. 

He commenced his reign, a. d. 41, by proclaiming a gene- 
His efforts ^'^^ amucsty. He restored confiscated estates, 
at reform. recalled the wretched sisters of Caius, sent back to 
Greece and Asia the plundered statues of temples which 
Caius had transported to Rome, and inaugurated a regime 
of moderation and justice. His life had been one of sickness, 
neglect, and obscurity, but he was suffered to live because he 



Chap. XXX VIIL] ClaudlUS. 503 

was harmless. His mother was ashamed of him, and his 
grandmother, Livia, despised him, and his sister, Livilla, 
ridiculed him. He was withheld from public life, and he 
devoted himself to literary pursuits, and even wrote a history 
of Roman affairs from the battle of Actium, but it gained 
him no consideration. Tiberius treated him with contumely, 
and his. friends deserted him. All this neglect aijd contempt 
were the effects of a weak constitution, a paralytic gait, and 
an imperfect utterance. 

Claudius took Augustus as his model, and at once a great 
change in the administration was observable. TheaWe 
There was a renewed activity of the armies on the Jj|,™^"f ^*''*' 
frontiers, and great generals arose who were des- Claudius, 
lined to be future emperors. The colonies were strengthened 
and protected, and foreign affairs were conducted with 
ability. Herod Agrippa, the favorite of Caius, was confirmed 
in his government of Galilee, and received in addition the 
dominions of Samaria and Judaea. Antiochus was restored 
to the throne of Commagene, and Mithridates received a 
district of Cilicia. The members of the Senate were made 
responsible for the discharge of their magistracies, and 
vacancies to this still august body were filled ujd from the 
wealthy and powerful families. He opened an honorable 
career to the Gauls, revised the lists of the knights, and took 
an accurate census of Roman citizens. He conserved the 
national religion, and regulated holidays and festivals. His 
industry and patience were unwearied, and the administra- 
tion of justice extorted universal admiration. His person 
was accessible to all petitioners, and he relieved distress 
wherever he found it. He relinquished the most grievous 
exactions of his predecessors, and tenderly guarded neglected 
slaves. He also constructed great architectural works, 
especially those of utility, completed the vast aqueduct 
which Caius commenced, and provided the city with provis- 
ions. He built the port of Ostia, to facilitate commerce, 
and drained marshes and lakes. The draining of the Lake 
Fucinus occupied thirty thousand men for eleven years. 



504 Tlie First Six Ccesars. [Chap. xxxviir. 

While he executed vast engineering works to supply the 
city with water, he also amused the people with gladiatorial 
shows. In all things he showed the force of the old Roman 
character, in spite of bodily feebleness. 

The most memorable act of his administration was the con- 
CoTi iiestof ^^^sti of South Britain. By birth a Gaul, being 
Britain. bom at Lugdunum, he cast his eyes across the 
British channel and resolved to secure the island beyond as 
the extreme frontier of his dominions, then under the 
dominion of the Druids — a body of Celtic priests whom the 
Romans ever detested, and whose rites all preceding emper- 
ors had proscribed. Julius Caesar had pretended to impose 
a tribute on the chiefs of Southern Britain, but it was never 
exacted. Both Augustus and Tiberius felt but little interest 
in the political affairs of that distant island, but the rapid 
progress of civilization in Gaul, and the growing cities on 
the banks of the Rhine, elicited a spirit of friendly inter- 
course. Londinium, a city which escaped the notice of 
Csesar, was a great emporium of trade in the time of Clau- 
dius. But the southern chieftains were hostile, and jealous 
of their independence. So Claudius sent four legions to 
Britain, under Plautius, and his lieutenant, Vespasianus, to 
oppose the forces under Caractacus. He even entered 
Britain in person, and subdued the Trinobantes. But for 
nine years Caractacus maintained an independent position. 
He was finally overthrown in battle, and betrayed to the 
Romans, and exhibited at Rome. The insurrection was sup- 
pressed, or rather, a foothold was secured in the island, 
which continued henceforth under the Roman rule. '^ 

The feeble old man, always nursed by women, had the mis- 
fortune to marry, for his third wife, the most infamous 
woman in Roman annals (Valeria Messalina), under 
whose influence the reign, at first beneficent, 
became disgraceful. Claudius was entirely ruled by her. 
She amassed fortunes, sold offices, confiscated estates, and 
indulged in guilty loves. She ruled like a Madame de Pom- 
padour, and degraded the throne which she ought to have 



Chap. XXXVIII.] Msssalina. 505 

exalted. The influence of women generally was bad in 
those corrupt times, but her influence was scandalous and 
degrading. 

Claudius also was governed by his favorites, generally men 
of low birth — freedmen who usurped the place of statesmen. 
Karcissus and Pallas were the most confidential of the 
emperor's advisers, who, in consequence, became enormously 
rich, for favors flowed through them, and received the great 
offices of State. The court became a scene of cabals and 
crimes, disgraced by the wanton shamelessness of the 
empress and the venality of courtiers. Appius Silanus, one 
of the best and greatest of the nobles, was murdered through 
the intrigues of Messaliua, to whose progress in wickedness 
history furnishes no parallel, and Yalerius Asiaticus, another 
great noble, also suffered the penalty of offending her, and 
was destroyed ; and his magnificent gardens, which she cov- 
eted, were bestowed upon her. 

But Messalina was rivaled in iniquity by another princess, 
between whom and herself there existed the dead- 

Agi'ippina. 

liest animosity. This was Agrippina, the daugh- 
ter of Germanicus, who had been married to Cn. Domitius 
Ahenobarbus, grandson of Octavia, and whose issue was the 
future emperor Nero. The niece of Claudius occupied the 
second place in the imperial household, and it became her 
aim to poison the mind of her uncle against the woman she 
detested, and who returned her hatred. She now leagued 
with the freedmen of the palace to destroy her rival. An 
opportunity to gratify her vengeance soon occurred. Mes- 
salina, according to Tacitus, was guilty of the inconceivable- 
madness of marrying Silanus, one of her paramours, while 
her husband lived, and that husband an emperor, which 
story can not be believed without also supposing that Clau- 
dius was a perfect idiot. Such a defiance of law, of religion, 
and of the feelings of mankind, to say nothing of its folly, 
is not to be supposed. Yet such was the scandal, and it 
filled the imperial household with consternation. Callistus, 
Pallas, and Narcissus — the favorites who ruled Claudius — 



506 The First Six Ccesars. [Chap. xxxviii. 

united with Agrippina to secure her ruin. The emperor, 
then absent in Ostia, was informed of the shamelessness of 
his wife. It was difficult for him to believe such a fact, but 
it was attested by the trusted members of his household. 
His fears were excited, as well as his indignation, and he 
hastened to Rome for vengeance and punishment. Messa- 
lina had retired to her magnificent gardens on the Pincian, 
which had once belonged to Lucullus, the price of the blood 
of the murdered Asiaticus ; but, on the approach of the 
emperor, of which she was informed, she advanced boldly to 
confront him, with every appearance of misery and distress, 
with her children Britannicus and Octavia. Claudius vacil- 
lated, and Messalina retired to her gardens, hoping to con- 
vince her husband of her innocence on the interview which 
he promised the following day. But Narcissus, knowing 
Assassina- her influence, caused her to be assassinated, and the 

tion of T -, 1 . . ^ rY> • 

Messalina. empcror drowued his gnei, or aiiection, or anger, 
in wine and music, and seemingly forgot her. That Messa- 
lina was a wicked and abandoned woman is most probable ; 
that she was as bad as history represents her, may be 
doubted, especially when we remember she was calumniated 
by a rival, who succeeded in taking her place as wife. It 
is easier to believe she was the victim of Agrippina and the 
,, . . freedmen, who feared as well as hated her, than 

Marriage of ' ' 

Claudius -^q acccpt the authority of Tacitus and Juvenal. 

with Agnp- ^ .... 

pina. On the death of Messalina, Agrippina married her 

uncle, and the Senate sanctioned the union, which was incest 
by the Roman laws. 

The fourth wife of the emperor transcended the third in 
intrigue and ambition, and her marriage, at the age of 
thirty-three, was soon followed by the betrothal of her son, 
L. DomitiuR, a boy of twelve, with Octavia, the daughter 
of Claudius and Messalina. He was adopted by the emperor, 
and assumed the name of Nero. Henceforth she labored for 
the advancement of her son only. She courted the army 
and the favor of the people, and founded the city on the 
Rhine which we call Cologne. But she outraged the notions 



Chap. xxxviiL] Death cf ClaudAus. 507 

and sentiments of the people more by her unfeminine usur- 
pation of public honors, than by her cruelty or her y^^^^^ ^^ 
dissoluteness. She seated herself by the side of Agrippina. 
the emperor in military festivals. She sat by him at a sea- 
fio-ht on the Lucrine Lake, clothed in a soldier's cloak. She 
took her station in front of the Roman standard, when 
Caractacus, the conquered British chief, was brought in 
chains to the emperor's tribunal. She caused the dismissal 
of the imperial officers who incurred her displeasure. She 
exercised a paramount sway over her husband, and virtually 
ruled the empire. She distracted the palace with discords, 
cabals, and jealousies. 

How the bad influence of these women over the mind of 
Claudius can be reconciled with the vigilance, and the 
labors, and the beneficent measures of the emperor, as gen- 
erally admitted, history does not narrate. But it was during 
the ascendency of both Messalina and Agrippina, that Clau- 
dius presided at the tribunals of justice with zeal and intel- 
ligence, that he interested himself in works of great public 
utility, and that he carried on successful war in Britain. 

In the year a. d. 54, and in the fourteenth of his 
reign, Claudius, exhausted by the affairs of State, and also, 
it is said, by intemperance, fell sick at Rome, and sought 
the medicinal waters of Sinuessa. It was there that Agrip- 
pina contrived to poison him, by the aid of Lo- jy^^iM of 
custa, a professed poisoner, and Xenophon, a phy- oiaudius. 
sician, while she affected an excess of grief She held his 
son Britannicus in her arms, and detained him and his sisters 
in the palace, while every preparation was made to secure 
the accession of her own son, Nero. She was probably 
prompted to this act from fear that she would be supplanted 
and punished, for Claudius had said, when wine had unloosed 
his secret thoughts, " that it was his fate to suffer the crimes 
of his wives, but at last to punish them." She also was 
eager to elevate her own son to the throne, which, of right, 
beloncred to Britannicus, and whose rights might have been 
subsequently acknowledged by the emperor, for his eyes 



508 The First Six Cmars. [Chap, xxxviii. 

could not be mucli longer blinded to the character of his 
wife. 

Claudius must not be classed with either wicked or imbe- 
ter of ^^^^ princes, in spite of his bodily infirmities, or 
Claudius. the slanders with which his name is .associated. 
It is probable he indulged to excess in the pleasures of the 
table, like the generality of Roman nobles, but we are to 
remember that he ever sought to imitate Augustus in his 
wisest measures ; that he ever respected letters when litera- 
ture was falling into contempt ; that his administration was 
vigorous and successful, fertile in victories and generals ; 
that he exceeded all his ministers in assiduous labors, and 
that he partially restored the dignity and authority of the 
Senate. His great weakness was in being ruled by favorites 
and women ; but his favorites were men of ability, and his 
women were his wives. 

ISTero, the son of Agrippina and Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus, 
. . by the assistance of the praetorian gjuards, was now 

Ascension J i o > 

of Nero. proclaimed imperator, a. d. 54, directly descended, 
both on his paternal and maternal side, from Antonia 
Major, the granddaughter of Antony and Domitius Aheno- 
barbus. Through Octavia, his grandmother, he traced his 
descent from the family of Caesar. The Domitii — the pater- 
nal ancestors of Nero — had been illustrious for several hun- 
dred years, and no one was more distinguished than Lucius 
Domitius, called Ahenobarbus, or Red-Beard, in the early 
days of the republic. The father of Nero, who married 
Agrippina, was as infamous for crimes as he was exalted for 
rank. But he died when his son Nero was three years of 
age. He was left to the care of his father's sister, Domitia 
Lepida, the mother of Messalina, and was by her neglected. 
His first tutors were a dancer and a barber. On the return 
of his mother from exile his education was more in accord- 
ance with his rank, as a prince of the blood, though not in 
„. , the line of succession. He was docile and afiec- 

Hi8 early 

character. tionatc as a child, and was intrusted to the care 
of Seneca, by whom he was taught rhetoric and moral phi- 



Chap. XXXVIII.] NeVO, 509 

losophy, and who connived at his taste for singing, piping, 
and dancing, the only accoraplishraents of which, as em- 
peror, he was afterward proud. He was surrounded with 
perils, in so wicked an age, as were other nobles, and, by 
his aclo]3tion, was admitted a member of the imperial family 
— the sacred stock of the Claudii and Julii. He was under 
the influence of his mother — the woman who subverted Mes- 
salina, and murdered Claudius, — who used every art and 
intrigue to secure his accession. 

When he mounted the throne of the Caesars, he gave 
promise of a benignant reign. His first speech to the Senate 
made a good impression, and his first acts were jj^^^^eg 
beneficent. But he ruled only throuo-hhis mother, P'-.<>m}seof 
who aspired to play the empress, a woman who ^^iseiy. 
gave answers to ambassadors, and sent di^ipatches to foreign 
courts. Burrhus, the prefect of the imperial guard, and Seneca, 
tutor and minister, through whose aid the claims of ISTero 
had been preferred over those of Britannicus, the son of the 
late emperor, opposed her usurpations, and attempted to 
counteract her influence. 

The early promises of N"ero were not fulfilled. He soon 
gave vent to every vice, which was disguised by ^^^ ^^^^^^ 
his ministers. One of the first acts was to dis- "'*°^t"'^nlll« 

the character 

grace the freedman, Pallas, — the prime minister" of oiNaro. 
Claudius, — and to destroy Britannicus by poison, which 
crimes were palliated, if not suggested, by Seneca. 

The influence which Seneca and Burrhus had over the young 
emperor, who screened his vices from the eyes of the people 
and Senate, necessarily led to a division between ^is minis- 
Nero and Agrippina. He withdrew her guard of ^^^s- 
honor, and paid her only formal visits, which conduct led to 
the desertion of her friends, and the open hostility of her 
enemies. The wretched woman defended herself asrainst the 
charges they brought, with spirit, and for a time she escaped. 
The influence of Seneca, at this period, was paramount, and 
was exerted for the good of the empire, so that the Senate 
acquiesced in the public measures of Nero, and no notice was 



510 The First Six CcBsars. [Chap. xxxviii. 

taken of his private irregularities. The empress mother 
apparently yielded to the ascendency of the ministers, and 
provoked no further trial of strength. 

Thus five years passed, until Nero was twenty-two, when 

Poppsea Sabina, the fairest woman of her time, appeared upon 

the sta2:e. Among the dissolute women of imperial 

Poppfea ^ "=* ^ ^ 

Sabina. Rome, she was pre-eminent. Introduced to the 

intimacy of Nero, she aspired to still higher elevation, and 
this was favored by the detestation with which Agrippina 
was generally viewed, and the continued decline of her influ- 
ence, since she had ruled by fear rather than love. Poppsea 
was now found intriguing against her, and induced Nero to 
murder his own mother, to whose arts and wickedness he 
owed his own elevation. The murder was effected in her 
villa, on the Lucrine Lake, under circumstances of utter bru- 
tality. Nero came to examine her mangled body, and coolly 
praised the beauty of her form. Nor were her ashes even 
placed in the mausoleum of Augustus. This wicked Jezebel, 
who had poisoned her husband, and was accused" 
character. of every Crime revolting to our nature, paid the 
penalty of her va,ried infamies, and her name has descended 
to all subsequent ages as the worst woman of antiquity. 

With the murder of Agrippina, the madness and atrocities 
of Nero gained new force. He now appears as a monster, 
Theinfa- and was oulv toIeratcd for the amusements with 

mies of . •' 

Nero. which he appeased the Roman people. He dis- 

graced the imperial dignity by descending upon the stage, 
which was always infamous ; he instituted demoralizing 
games ; he was utterly insensible to national sentiments and 
feelings; he exceeded all his predecessors in extravagance 
and follies ; he was suspected of poisoning Burrhus, by whom 
he was advanced to power; he executed men of the highest 
rank, whose crime was their riches ; he destroyed the mem- 
bers of the imperial family; he murdered Doryphorus and 
Pallas, because they were averse to his marriage with Pop- 
psea; he drove his chariot in the Circus Maximus, pleased 
with the acclamations of two hundred thousand spectators ; 



Chap. XXXVIII.] Infamies and Death of Nero, 511 

he gave banquets in which the utmost excesses of bacchana- 
lian debauchery were openly displayed ; he is said to have 
kindled the conflagration of his own capital ; he levied 
oppressive taxes to build his golden palace, and support his 
varied extravagance ; he even destroyed his tutor and min- 
ister, Seneca, that he might be free from his expostulations, 
and take possession of the vast fortune which this philosopher 
had accumulated in his service ; and he finally kicked his 
wife so savagely that she died from the violence he inflicted. 
If it were possible to add to his enormities, his persecution of 
the Christians swelled the measure of his infamies — the first 
to which they had been subjected in Rome, and in which Paul 
himself was a victim. But his government was supported 
by the cruelty and voluptuousness of the age, and which has 
never been painted in more vivid colors than by St. Paul 
himself The corrupt morality of the age tolerated all these 
crimes, and excesses, and follies — an age which saw no great 
writers except Seneca, Lucan, Perseus, and Martial, two of 
whom were murdered by the emperor. 

But the hour of retribution was at hand. The provinces 
were discontented, and the city filled with cabals and con- 
spiracies. Though one of them, instigated by Piso, conspiracies 
was unsuccessful, and its authors punished, a revolt against him. 
in Gaul, headed by Galba — an old veteran of seventy-two, and 
assisted by Vindex and Virginius, was fatal to Nero. The 
Senate and the praetorian guards favored the revolution. 
The emperor was no longer safe in his capital. Terrified by 
dreams, and stung by desertion, the wretched tyrant ^,5^,^^. ^^ 
fled to the Servilian Gardens, and from thence to ^«^"- 
the villa of one of his freedmen, near which he committed 
suicide, at the age of thirty-six, and in the fourteenth year of 
his inglorious reign, during which there are scarcely other 
events to chronicle than his own personal infamies. " In hira 
perished the last scion of the stock of the Julii, refreshed iu 
vain by grafts from the Octavii, the Claudii, and p^^tu of 
the Domitii." Though the first of the emperors ^'^'"'^ 
had married four wives, the second three, the third two, 



512 The First Six CcBsars. [Chap. xxxviii. 

the fourth three, the fifth six, and the sixth three, yet N'ero 
was the last of the Caesars. None of the five successors of 
Julius were truly his natural heirs. They trace their lineage 
to his sister Julia, but the three last had in their veins the 
blood of Antony as well as Octavia, and thus the descendants 
of the triumvir reigned at Rome as well as those of his rival 
Octavius. "We have only to remark that it is strange that 
the Julian line should have been extinguished in the sixth 
generation, with so many marriages. 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 

THE CLIMAX OF THE EOMAN EMPIRE. 

On the extinction of the Julian line, a new class of emper- 
ors succeeded, by whom the prosperity of the empire was 
greatly advanced. We have now to fall back on ISTiebuhr, 
Gibbon, and the Roman historians, and also make more use 
of Smith's digest of these authors. But so much ground still 
remains to go over, that we can only allude to salient points, 
and our notice of succeeding emperors must be brief. 

The empire was now to be the prize of successful soldiers, 
and Galba, at the age of seventy-three, was saluted impera- 
tor by the legions before the death of IsTero, a. d. 68, and 
acknowledged by the Senate soon after. There is nothing 
memorable in his short reign of a few months, and he was 
succeeded by Otho, who only reigned three months, and he 
was succeded by Vitellius, who was removed by violent 
death, like Galba and Otho. These three emperors 
left no mark, and were gluttons and sensualists, 
who excited nothing but contempt; soldiers of fortune — 
only respectable in inferior rank. 

On the first of July, a. d. 69, Titus Flavins Vespasianus, 
of humble family, arose, as general, to the highest honors of 
the State, and was first proclaimed emperor at Alexandria, 
at the close of the Jewish war, which he conducted to a 
successful issue. A brief contest with Vitellius secured 
his recognition by the Senate, and the first of the Flavian 
line began to reign — a man of great talents and virtues. 

The only hope of the Jews was in their stern fanati- 
cism, their stubborn patience, and their daring valor. They 
33 



514 The Climax of the Roman Empire. [Chap, xxxix. 

were to be justified for their insurrection by all those princi- 
ples which animate oppressed people striving to be free, 
and they had glorious precedents in the victories of the 
Maccabees ; but it was their misfortune to contend against 
the armies of the masters of the world. They were not 
strong enough for revolt. ^ 

The news of the insurrection, and the defeat of a Roman 
Sensation at pi'^^^^^j made a profouud sensation at Rome. 
Eome. AlthouQjh Ncro affected to treat the affair with lev- 

ity, he selected, however, the ablest general of the empire, 
Yespasian, and sent him to Syria. The storm broke out 
in Galilee, w^hose mountain fastnesses were intrusted by the 
Jews to Joseph, the son of Matthias — lineally descended 
from an illustrious priestly family, with the blood of the 
Asmonean running in his veins — a man of culture and learn- 
ing — a Pharisee who had at first opposed the insurrection, 
but drawn into it after the defeat of Cestius. He is better 
known to us as the historian Josephus. His measures of 
defense were prudent and vigorous, and he endeavored to 
Eoman uuitc the various parties in the contest which he 

preparations , t , tt • t ly 

for war. knew was desperate. He raised an army oi one 

hundred thousand men, and introduced the Roman discipline, 
but was impeded in his measures by party dissensions and 
by treachery. In the city of Jerusalem, Ananias, the high 
priest, took the lead, but had to contend with fanatics and 
secret enemies. 

The first memorable event of the war was the unsuccessful 
expedition against Ascalon, sixty-five miles from Jerusalem, 
Expedition in whicli Roman discipline prevailed asjainst num- 

against As- , 

caion. bers. This was soon followed by the advance of 

Vespasian to Ptolemais, while Titus, his lieutenant and son, 
sailed from Alexandria to join him. Yespasian had an army 
of sixty thousand veterans. Josephus could not openly 
contend against this force, but strengthened his fortified 
cities. Yespasian advanced cautiously in battle array, and 
halted on the frontiers of Galilee. The Jews, under Josephus, 



Chap. XXXIX.] Siege of Jotaphata, 515 

fled ill despair. Gadara was the first city which fell, and its 
inhabitants were put to the sword — a stern vengeance which 
the Romans often exercised, to awe their insurgent enemies. 
Josephus retired to Tiberias, hopeless and discouraged, and 
exhorted the people of Jerusalem either to re-enforce him with 
a powerful army, or make submission to the Romans. They 
did neither. He then threw himself into Jotapata, where 
the strongest of the Galilean warriors had intrenched them- 
selves. Vespasian advanced against the city with his whole 
army, and drew a line of circumvallation around it, and then 
commenced the attack. The city stood on the top of a lofty 
hill, and was difficult of access, and well supplied with pro- 
visions. As the works of the Romans arose around the city, 
its walls were raised thirty-five feet by the defenders, while 
they issued out in sallies and fought with the courage of de- 
spair. The city could not be taken by assault, and the siege 
was converted into a blockade. The besieged, supplied with 
provisions, issued out from behind their fortifications, and 
destroyed the works of the Romans. The fearful battering- 
rams of the besiegers were destroyed by the arts and inven- 
tions of the besieged. The catapults and scorpions swept the 
walls, and the huge stones began to tell upon the turrets and 
the towers. The whole city was surrounded by triple lines 
of heavy armed soldiers, ready for assault. The Jews resorted, 
to all kinds of expedients, even to the pouring of boiling oil 
on the heads of their assailants. The Roman general was 
exasperated at the obstinate resistance, and proceeded by 
more cautious measures. He raised the embankments, and 
fortified them with towers, in which he placed slingers and 
archers, whose missiles told with terrible effect on those who 
defended the walls. Forty-seven days did the gallant de- 
fenders resist all the resources of Vespasian. But they were 
at leno;th exhausted, and their ranks were thinned. ^ „ , ^ , 

° ^ ' Fail of Jota- 

Once again a furious assault was made by the p^-ta. 
whole army, and Titus scaled the walls. The city fell 
with the loss of forty thousand men on both sides, and Jos6- 



616 Climax of the Roman Empire, [Chap, xxxix. 

phus surrendered to the will of God, but was himself spared 
by the victors by adroit flatteries, in which he predicted the 
elevation of Vespasian to the throne of Nero. 

It would be interesting to detail the progress of the war, 
but our limits forbid. The reader is referred to Josephus. 
Fall of City after city gradually fell into the hands of Ves- 
joppa. pasian, who now established himself in Csesarea. 

Joppa shared the fate of Jotapata ; the city was razed, but 
the citadel was fortified by the Romans. 

The intelligence of these disasters filled Jerusalem with 
consternation and mourning, for scarcely a family had not 
to deplore the loss of some of its members. Tiberias and 
Taricheae, on the banks of the beautiful lake of Galilee, were 
the next which fell, followed by atrocious massacres, after 
the fashion of war in those days. Galilee stood appalled, 
Fall of a^<^ ^11 its cities but three surrendered. Of these 

Gamaia. Gauiala, the capital, was the strongest, and more 
inaccessible than Jotapata. It was built upon a precipice, 
and was crowded with fugitives, and well provisioned. But 
it was finally taken, as well as Gischala and Itabyrium, and 
all Galilee was in the hands of the Romans. 

Jerusalem, meanwhile, was the scene of factions and dissen- 
Factions at sions. It might havc re-enfoi*ced the strongholds 
Jerusalem. ^^ Galilee, but gavc itself up to j^arty animosities, 
which weakened its strength. Had the Jews been united, 
they might have offered a more successful resistance. But 
their fate was sealed. I can not describe the various in- 
trigues and factions which paralyzed the national arm, and 
forewarned the inhabitants of their doom. 

Meanwhile, Nero was assassinated, and Vespasian was 
elevated to the imperial throne. He sent his son Titus to 
complete the subjugation which had hitherto resisted his 
conquering legions. 

Jerusalem, in those days of danger and anxiety, was still 
rent by factions, and neglected her last chance of organizing 
her forces to resist the common enemy. Never was a city 



Chap. XXXIX.] Situation of Jerusalem. 517 

more insensible of its doom. Three distinct parties were 
at war with each other, shedding each others' infatuation 
blood, reckless of all consequences, callous, fierce, ^^ ^^^ ^^^^' 
desperate. At length the army of Titus advanced to the siege 
of the sacred city, still strong and well provisioned. Four 
legions, with mercenary troops and allies, burning to avenge 
the past, encamped beneath the walls, destroying the orchards 
and olive-grounds and gardens which everywhere gladdened 
the beautiful environs. The city was fortified with three 
walls where not surrounded by impassable ravines, not one 
within the other, but inclosing distinct quarters ; ^^ ^ „ 
and these were of great strength, the stones of ^ions. 
which were in some parts thirty-five feet long, and so thick 
that even the heaviest battering-rams could make no im- 
pression. One hundred and sixty-four towers surmounted 
these heavy walls, one of which was one hundred and forty 
feet high, and forty-three feet square ; another, of white 
marble, seventy-six feet in height, was built of stones thirty- 
five feet long, and seventeen and a half wide, and eight and 
a half high, joined together with the most perfect masonry. 
Within these walls and towers was the royal palace, sur- 
romided by walls and towers of equal strength. The for- 
tress of Antonia, seventy feet high, stood on a rock of ninety 
feet elevation, with precipitous sides. High above all these 
towers and hills, and fortresses, stood the temple, on an 
esplanade covering a square of a furlong on each side. The 
walls which surrounded this fortress-temple were built of 
vast stones, and were of great height ; and within these 
walls, on each side, was a spacious double portico fifty-two 
and a half feet broad, with a ceiling of cedar exquisitely 
carved, supported by marble columns forty-three and three- 
quarters feet hio;h, hewn out of siuQ-le stones. There 

^ o 5 & ^ The temple. 

were one hundred and sixty-two of these beautiful 
columns. Within this quadrangle was an inner wall, seventy 
feet in height, inclosing the inner court, around which, in the 
interior, was another still more splendid portico, entered by 
brazen gates adorned with gold. These doors, or gates, 



518 Climax of the Roman Empire. [Chap, xxxix. 

were iifty-two and a half feet high and twenty-six and a 
quarter wide. Each gateway had two lofty pillars, twenty- 
one feet in circumference. The gate called Beautiful was 
eighty-seven and a half feet high, made of Corinthian brass, 
and plated with gold. The quadrangle, entered by nine of 
these gates, inclosed still another, within which was the 
temple itself, with its glittering facade. This third and 
inner quadrangle was entered by a gateway tower one hun- 
dred and thirty-two and a half feet high and forty-three and 
a half wide. " At a distance the temple looked like a moun- 
tain of snow fretted with golden pinnacles." With what 
emotions Titus must have surveyed this glorious edifice, as 
the sun rising above Mount Moriah gilded its gates and pin- 
nacles — soon to be so utterly demolished that not one stone 
should be left upon another. 

Around the devoted city Titus erected towers which 
overlooked the walls, from which he discharged his destruc- 
tive missiles, while the battering-rams played against 
° ' the walls, where they were weakest. The first wall 
was soon abandoned, and five days aifter the second was 
penetrated, after a furious combat, and Titus took possession 
of the lower city, where most of the people lived. 

The precipitous heights of Zion, the tower of Antonia 
and the temple still remained, and although the cause was 
hopeless, the Jews would hear of no terms of surrender. 
Titus used every means. So did Josephus, who harangued 
the people at a safe distance. The most obstinate fury was 
added to presumptuous, vain confidence, perhaps allied with 
utter distrust of the promises of ^emies whom they had 
offended past forgiveness. 

At length famine pressed. N"o grain was to be bought. 
Famine in The wealthy secreted their food. All kind feelings 
^ ^^ ^' were lost in the general misery. Wives snatched 
the last morsel from their family and weary husbands, and 
children from their parents. The houses were full of dying 
and the dead, a heavy silence oppressed every one, yet no 
complaints were made. They suffered in sullen gloom and 



Chap. XXXIX.] Fall of Jerusalem. 519 

despair. From the 14th of April to the 19th of July, a. d. 70, 
from one hundred thousand to five hundred thousand, ac- 
cordino: to difierent estimates, were buried or thrown from 
the walls. A measure of wheat sold for a talent, and the 
dunghills were raked for subsistence. 

When all was ready, the assault on the places which remain- 
ed commenced. On the 5th of July the fortress of The assault 
Antonia was taken, and the siege of the temple was " ^^^'^"^ ^°^ 
pressed. Titus made one more attempt to persuade its defend- 
ers to surrender, wishing to save the sacred edifice, but they 
were deaf and obstinate. They continued to fight, inch by 
inch, exhausted by famine, and reduced to despair. They 
gnawed their leathern belts, and ate their very children. On 
the 8th of August the wall inclosing the portico, or cloisters, 
was scaled. On the 10th the temple itself, a powerful fort- 
ress, fell, with all its treasures, into the hands of , ^ ^, 

. ' ' . . The fall. 

the victors. The soldiers gazed with admn-ation on 
the plates of gold, and the curious workmanship of the sacred 
vessels. All that could be destroyed by fire was burned, 
and all who guarded the precincts were killed. 

Still the palace and the upper city held out. Titus prom- 
ised to spare the lives of the defenders if they The siege 
would instantly surrender. But they still demand- the city. 
ed terms. Titus, in a fury, swore that the whqle surviving 
population should be exterminated. It was not till the 7th 
of September that this last bulwark was captured, so obsti- 
nately did the starving Jews defend themselves. A miscel- 
laneous slaughter commenced, till the Romans were weary 
of their work of vengeance. During the whole siege one 
million one hundred thousand were killed, and ninety-seven 
thousand made prisoners, since a large part of the population 
of Judea had taken refuge within the walls. During the 
whole war one million three hundred and fifty-six thousand 
were killed. 

Thus fell Jerusalem, after a siege of five months, the most 
desperate defense of a capital in the history of war. It fell 
never to rise again as a Jewish metropolis. Never had a 



520 Climax of the Roman Empire. [Chap.xxxix. 

city greater misfortunes, never was a prophecy more signally 
fulfilled. 

One of the first acts of the new emperor was to purify the 
His first Senate, reduced to two hundred members, soon fol- 
acts. lowed by the restoration of the finances. He 

rebuilt the capitol, erected the temple of Peace, the new 
forum, the baths of Titus, and the Coliseum. He extended 
a generous patronage to letters, and under his reign Quin- 
tilian, the great rhetorician, and Pliny, the naturalist, 
flourished. It was in the ninth year of his reign that an 
eruption of Vesuvius occurred, when Plerculaneum and 
Pompeii were destroyed, to witness which Pliny lost his life. 
Vespasian had associated with himself his son Titus in the 
government, and died, after a reign of ten years, exhausted 
by the cares of empire ; and Titus quietly succeeded him, but 
reigned only for two years and a quarter, and was 
succeeded by his brother, Domitian, a man of some 
ability, but cruel, like JSTero. He was ten years younger than 
Titus, and was thirty years of age when proclaimed emperor 
by the praetorians, and accepted by the Senate, a. d. 81, At 
first he was a reformer, but soon was stained by the most 
odious vices. He continued the vast architectural works of 
his father and brother, and patronized learning. 

It was durino; the reig^n of Domitian that Britain was 
finally conquered by Ag-ricola, who was recalled 

Domitian. -, . . , / ^ 

by the jealousy oi the emperor, alter a series 
of successes which gave him immortality. The reduction of 
this island did not seriously commence until the reign of 
Claudius. By IsTero, Suetonius Paulinus was sent to Britain, 
and under him Agricola took his first lessons of soldiership. 
Under Vespasian he commanded the twentieth legion in 
Britain, and was the twelfth Roman general sent to the 
Conquest of inland. On his return to Rome he was made con- 
Britain. g^|^ ^nd Britain was assigned to him as his province, 

where he remained seven years, until he had extended his 
conquests to the Grampian Hills. He taught the Britons the 
arts and luxuries of civilized life, to settle in towns, and to 



Chap, xxxix.] Agricola. 521 

build houses and temples. Among the foes he encountered, 
the most celebrated was Boadicea, queen of the Iceni, on 
the eastern coast, who led the incredible number of two 
hundred and forty thousand against the Roman legions, but 
was defeated, with the loss of eighty thousand, — some atone- 
ment for the seventy thousand Romans, and their allies, who 
had been slain at Londinium, when Suetonius Paulinus com- 
manded. 

The year of Agricola's recall, a. d. 84, forms the epoch of 
the undisguised tyranny which Domitian subsequently exer- 
cised. The reign of informers and proscriptions recom- 
menced, and many illustrious men were executed „ 

' ^ •' Persecution 

for insufficient reasons. The Christians were of christians. 
persecuted, and the philosophers were banished, and 
yet he received the most fulsome flattery from the poet 
Martial. The tyrant lived in seclusion, in his Alban villa, 
and was finally assassinated, after a reign of fifteen years, 
A. D. 96. 

On his death a new era of prosperity and glory was 
inauQjurated, by the election of ISTerva, and for five „ 

o 5 J ' Nerva. 

successive reigns the Roman world was governed 

with virtue and ability. It is the golden era of Roman 

history, praised by Gibbon and admired by all historians, 

during which the eyes of contemporaries saw nothing but to 

panegyrize. 

Marcus Cocceius Nerva was the great-grandson of a minister 
of Octavius, and was born in Umbria. He was consul with 
Vespasian, a. d. 71, and with Domitian, in a. d. 90, and was 
far advanced in life when chosen by the Senate. The 
public events of his short but beneficent reign are unim- 
portant. He relieved poverty, diminished the expenses of 
the State, and set, in his own life, an example of republican 
simplicity. But he did not reign long enough to jy^^^^ ^^ 
have his character tested. He died in six- ^erva. 
teen months after his elevation to the purple. His chief 
work was to create a title for his successor, for he assumed 
the right of adoption, and made choice of Trajan, without 



522 Clim>ax of the Roman Umpire, [Chap, xxxix, 

regard to his own kin, then at the head of the armies of 
Germany. 

The new emperor, one of the most illustrious that ever 
reigned at Rome, was born in Spain, a. d. 52, and 
had spent his life in the camp. He had a tall and 
commanding form, was social and genial in his habits, and 
inspired universal respect. No better choice could have 
been made. He entered his capital without pomp, unattended 
by guards, distinguished only for the dignity of his bearing, 
allowing free access to his person, and paying vows to the 
gods of his country. His wife, Plotina, bore herself as the 
spouse of a simple senator, and his sister, Marciana, exhibited 
a demeanor equally commendable. 

The great external event of his reign was the war against 
The Dacian the Dacians, and their country was the last which 
^^'*' the Romans subdued in Europe. They belonged 

to the Thracian group of nations, and were identical with 
the Getse. They inhabited the country which was bordered 
on the south by the Danube and Moesia, They were engaged 
in frequent wars with the Romans, and obtained a decided 
advantage, in the reign of Domitian, under their king Dece- 
balus. The honor of the empire was so far tarnished as to 
pay a tribute to Dacia, but Trajan resolved to wipe away the 
disgrace, and headed himself an expedition into this distant 
country, a. d. 101, with eighty thousand veterans, subdued 
Deceb;ilus, and added Dacia to the provinces of the empire. 
He built a bridge over the Danube, on solid stone piers, about 
two hundred and twenty miles below the modern Belgrade, 
which was a remarkable architectural work, four thousand 
five hundred and seventy feet in length. Enough treasures 
were secured by the conquest of Dacia to defray the expenses 
of the Avar, and of the celebrated triumph which commemo- 
rated his victories. At the games instituted in honor of this 
Gladiatorial conqucst, eleven thousand beasts were slain, and 
sports. ^gQ thousand gladiators fought in the Flavian Am- 

phitheatre. The column on which his victories were repre-; 
sented still remains to perpetuate his magnificence, with its 



Chap. XXXIX.] Conquests and Death of Trajan. 523 

two thousand five hundred figures in bas-relief, winding in a 
spiral band around it from the base to the summit — one of 
the most interesting relics of antiquity. Near this column 
were erected the Forum Trajanum and the Ba- ,pj^g Forum 
silica Ulpia, the former one thousand one hundred Tiajanum. 
feet long, and the basilica connected with it, surrounded with 
colonnades, and filled with colossal statues. This enormous 
structure covered more ground than the Flavian Amphithea- 
tre, and was built by the celebrated Apollodorus, of Damas- 
cus. It fiJled the whole space between the Capitoline and 
the Quirinal. The double colonnade which surrounded it 
was one of the most beautiful works of art in the world. 

On the conquest of Dacia, Trajan devoted himself to the 
internal administration of his vast empire. He maintained 
the dignity of the Senate, and allowed the laws to take their 
course. He was untiring in his efforts to provide for the 
material wants of his subjects, and in developing the resources 
of the empire, 'nor did he rule by oppressive exactions. 

After seven years of wise administration, he again was 
called into the field to extend the eastern frontier The Parthian 
of the empire. His efforts were directed against expedition. 
Armenia and Parthia. He reduced the former to a Roman 
province, and advanced into those Caucasian regions where 
no Roman iraperator had preceded him, except Pompey, 
receiving the submission of Iberians and Albanians. To 
overthrow Parthia was now his object, and he advanced 
across the Tigris to Ctesiphon. In the Parthian capital he 
was saluted as imperator; but, oppressed with gloom and 
enfeebled by sickness, he did not presume to reach, as he had 
aspired, the limits of the Macedonian conquest. He was too 
old for such work. He returned to Antioch, sick- j^^^^^^ ^^ 
ened, and died in Cilicia, August, a. d. 117, after Tr^J^"- 
a prosperous and even glorious reign of nineteen and a half 
years. But he had the satisfaction of having raised the 
empire to a state of unparalleled prosperity, and of having 
extended its limits on the east and on the west to the farthest 
point it ever reached. 



624 Climax of the Roraan Einj^ire. [Chap, xxxix. 

Publius JEliiis Hadrian succeeded this great emperor, and 
was born in Rome a. d. 76, and was a son of the 

Hadrian. • « m • tt t t 

nrst cousin of irajan. He made extraordmary 
attainments as a youth, and served honorably in the armies 
of his country, especially during the Dacian w;irs. At 
twenty-five he was quaestor, at thirty-one he was praetor, and 
in the following year was made consul, for the forms of the 
old republic were maintained under the emperors. He was 
adopted by Trajan, and left at the head of the army at 
Antioch at the age of forty-two, when Trnjan died on his 
way to Rome. He was at once proclaimed emperor by the 
army, and its choice was confirmed by the Senate. 

He entered upon his reign with matured knowledge and 
experience, and sought the development of the empire rather 
than its extension beyond the Euphrates. He therefore 
withdrew his armies from Armenia, Mesopotamia, and Par- 
thia, and returned to Rome to celebrate, in Trajan's name, 
a magnificent triumph, and by employing the spoils of war 
in largesses and remission of taxes. Averse to the extension 
His warlike of the empire, he still aimed to secure its limits 
expeditions. £^.^^ hostile iuroads, and was thus led to repel 
invasions in Dacia and Britain. He marched at the head of 
his legions, bareheaded and on foot, as far as Moesia, and in 
another campaign through Gaul to the Rhine, and then 
crossed over to Britain, and secured the northern frontier, by 
a wall sixty-eight and a half miles in length, against the 
Caledonians. He then returned to Gaul, pnssed through 
Spain, crossed the straits to Mauritania, thi-eatened by the 
Moors, restored tranquillity, and then advanced to the fron- 
tiers of Parthia. He then returned through Asia Minor, and 
across the -^gean to Athens, and commenced the splendid 
works with which he adorned the intellectual capital of the 
empire. Before returning to Rome, he visited Carthage and 
Sicily. 

Five years later, he made a second progress through the 
empire, which lasted ten years, with some intervals, spent in 
his capital, residing chiefly at Athens, constructing great 



Chap. XXXIX.] Hadrian, 525 

architectural works, and holding converse with philosophers 
and scholars. During this period he visited Alexandria, 
whose schools were rivaled only by those of Hadrian 
Athens, studying the fantastic philosophy of the provinces. 
Gnostics, and probably examining the Christian system. He 
ascended the Nile as far as Thebes, and then repaired to An- 
tioch, and returned to Rome through Asia Minor. In his 
progress, he not merely informed himself of the condition of 
the empire, but corrected abuses, and made the Roman rule 
tolerable. 

His remaining years were spent at Rome, diligently 
administrating the affairs of his vast government, His public 
founding libraries and schools, and decorating his ^°^^^- 
capital with magnificent structures. His temple of Venus 
at Rome was the largest ever erected in the city, and his 
mausoleum, stripped of its ornaments, now forms the Castle 
of St. Angelo. ISText to the Coliseum, it was the grandest 
architectural monument in Rome. He also built a villa at 
Tivoli, whose remains are among the most interesting which 
seventeen centuries have preserved. 

This good emperor made a noble choice for his successor, 
Titus Aurelius Antoninus, and soon after died childless, a. d. 
138, after a peaceful reign of twenty-one years, in which, 
says Merivale, " he reconciled, with eminent success, things 
hitherto found irreconcilable : a contented army and a peace- 
ful frontier ; an abundant treasury with lavish expenditure ; a 
free Senate and stable monarchy ; and all this without the 
lustre of a great military reputation, the foil of an odious 
predecessor, or disgust at recent civil commotions. He 
recognized, in theory, both conquerors and conquered as one 
people, and greeted in person every race among his sub- 
jects." He had personal defects of character, but his reign 
is one of the best of the imperial series, and marked the 
crowning age of Roman civilization. 

Antoninus Pius, his successor, had less ability, but a still 
more faultless character. He sprung from the Antoninus 
ranks of the nobility; was consul in the third ^^^^' 



626 Climax of the lloman Empire, [chap. xxxix. 

year of Hadrian, and was prefect of Asia until liis adoption, 
when he took up his residence in Rome, and never left its 
neighborliood during the remainder of his life. His peaceful 
reign is barren of external events, but fruitful in the peace 
and security of his subjects, and the only drawback in his 
hajDpiness was the licentious character of his wife, who bore 
him two sons and two daughters. The sons died before his 
elevation, but one of his daughters married M. Annius Verus, 
whom he adopted as his successor, and associated with hira 
Death of '^^ the government of the empire. He died after a 
Antoiimus. Yoxgn of twcnty-threc years, and was buried in the 
mausoleum of Hadrian, which he completed. His character 
is thus drawn by his son-in-law and successor, Marcus Aure- 
lius : " In my father, I noticed mildness of manner with firm- 
ness of resolution, contempt of vainglory, industry in busi- 
ness, and accessibility of person. He knew how 

His eulogy. "^ ._ 

to relax, as well as when to labor. Jb rom him 1 
learned to acquiesce in every fortune, to exercise foresight in 
public affairs, to rise superior to vulgar praises, to worship the 
gods without superstition, to serve mankind without ambition, 
to be sober and steadfast, to be content with little, to be no 
sophist or dreaming bookworm, to be practical and active, to 
be neat and cheerful, to be temperate, modest in dress, and in- 
different to the beauty of slaves and farniture, not to be led 
away by novelties, yet to render honor to true philosophers." 
What a picture of a heathen emperor, drawn by a pagan 
philosopher ! — the single purpose of ruling for the happiness 
of his subjects, and realizing the idea of a paternal govern- 
ment, and this in one of the most corrupt periods of Roman 
society. 

Marcus Aurelius, like Trajan and Hadrian, derived his 
Marcus Origin from Spain, but was born in Italy. His 

features are the most conspicuously preserved in 
the repositories of ancient art, as his name is the most honor- 
ably enshrined on the pages of history — the noblest and most 
august type of the ancient rulers of the world, far tran- 
scending any Jewish king in the severity of his virtues, and 



Chap, xxxix.] Marous Aurelius. 527 

the elevation of his soul. His life was modeled on the strict- 
est discipline of the stoical philosophy, of which he was the 
brightest ornament. He was nearly forty years of age on 
the death of his father-in-law, although for twenty-three 
years he had sat side by side with him on the tribunals of 
the State. His reign, therefore, was virtually a long one, 
and he was devoted to all the duties which his station im- 
posed. He was great as ruler, as he was profound as a 
philosopher. 

It was under his illustrious reign that the barbarians 
formed a general union for the invasion of the invasion of 
Roman world, and struck the first of those fatal ^^^ ^™p*'^- 
blows under which the empire finally succumbed. We have 
but little information of the long contest with Germans, Sar- 
matians, Marcomanni, Quadi, and Alani, on the banks of the 
Danube, who were pressed forward by the Scythian tribes. 
They were repelled, indeed, but they soon after advanced, 
with renovated forces, when the empire was weakened by 
the miserable emperors who succeeded Aurelius. And al- 
though this great prince commemorated his victory over the 
barbarians by a column similar to that of Trajan, still they 
were far from being subdued, and a disgraceful peace, which 
followed his death, shows that they were exceed- Death of 
ingly formidable. He died at Sirmium, or Yindo- ^'^^■®^''^^- 
bona (Vienna), exhausted by incessant wars and the cares 
of State, A. D. 180, in the fifty-ninth year of his age, and 
twentieth of his reign. The concurrent testimony of histori- 
ans represents this emperor as the loftiest character that ever 
wielded a sceptre among the nations of antiquity, although 
we can not forget that he was a persecutor of the Christians. 

His son, Commodus, succeeded him, and the thirteen years 
of his inglorious reign are summed up in conflicts with the 
Moors, Dacians, and Germans. Skillful sfenerals, 

. TTrr>i 1^1 Commodus. 

by their successes, warded on^ the attacks of bar- 
barians, but the character and rule of the emperor resembled 
that of Nero and Domitian. He was weak, cruel, pleasure- 
seeking, and dissolute. His time was divided between pri- 



528 Climax of the Roman Emj^ire. [chap. xxxix. 

vate vices and disgraceful public exhibitions. He fought as 
a gladiator more than seven hundred times, and against 
antagonists whose only weapons were tin and lead. He 
also laid claim to divinity, and was addicted to debasing 
superstitions. He destroyed the old ministers of his father, 
and decimated the Senate. All who excited his jealousy, or 
his covetousness, were put out of the way. He was poisoned 
by his favorite mistress, Marcia, and the Senate set the brand 
of infamy on his name. Thus perished the last of the line 
of the Antonines, even as the Julian line was ended by the 
assassination of iTero, and the Flavian by that of Domitian, 
and the empire became once again the prize of the soldier, 
A. D. 192. 



CHAPTER XL. 

THE DECLINE OF THE EMPIRE. 

Able or virtuous princes had now ruled the Roman world, 
with a few exceptions, from Julius Caesar to Com- Apparent 
modus, a period of more than two hundred years. Prosperity- 
Among these were some odious tyrants, or madmen, who 
were removed by assassination. But some of these very 
tyrants governed with ability, and such was the general 
prosperity, such the wonderful mechanism of government for 
which the Romans had a genius, that the general condition 
of the world was better than at any preceding period. All 
that government could do to preserve and extend civilization 
was done, on the whole. Despotism was not signally op- 
pressive, and the regime of Augustus, of Vespasian, and 
Hadrian was generally maintained. The Roman governors, 
appointed by the emperors, ruled more wisely and benefi- 
cently than in the time of the republic. Peace, security, and 
law reigned, and, in consequence, the population increased, 
civilization advanced, and wealth was accumulated. The 
whole empire rejoiced in populous cities, in works of art, in 
literary culture, and in genial manners. Society was pagan, 
but attractive, and Rome herself was the resort of travelers, 
the centre of fashion and glory, the joy and the pride of the 
whole earth. There were no destructive wars, except on the 
frontiers ; all classes were secure, the face of nature was 
cultivated and beautiful, and poets sung the praises of 
civilization such as never existed but in isolated cities 
and countries. 

But now we observe the commencement of a great and 
melancholy change. Prosperity had led to vice, false se* 
34 



630 Decline of the Empire. [Chap. xl. 

curity, and pride. All classes had become corrupt. Dispropor- 
Great moral tlonate fortuncs, slavcry, and luxury undermined 
changes. ^^^ moral health, and destroyed not only eleva- 
tion of sentiment but martial virtues. Literature declined 
in spirit and taste, and was directed to frivolous subjects. 
Christianity bad not become a power sufficiently strong to 
change or modify the corrupt institutions controlled by the 
powerful classes. The expensive luxury of the nobles was 
almost incredible. The most distant provinces were ran- 
sacked for game, fish, and fowl for the tables of the great. 
Usury was practiced at a ruinous rate. Every thing was 
measured by the money standard. Art was prostituted to 
please degraded tastes. There was no dignity of character; 
women were degraded ; only passing vanities made any 
impression on egotistical classes; games and festivals were 
multiplied; gladiatorial sports outraged humanity; the 
descendants of the proudest families prided themselves 
chiefly on their puerile frivolities ; the worst rites of pagan- 
ism were practiced; slaves performed the most important 
functions ; the circus and the theatre were engrossing pleas- 
ures ; the baths were the resort of the idle and the luxurious, 
who almost lived in them, and were scenes of disgraceful 
orgies; great extravagance in dress and ornaments was 
universal ; the pleasures of the table degenerated to riotous 
excesses ; cooks, bufibons, and dancers received more consid- 
eration than scholars and philosophers ; everybody wor- 
shiped the shrine of mammon; all science was directed to 
utilities that demoralized ; sensualism reigned triumphant, 
and the people lived as if there were no God. 

Such a state must prepare the way for violence, and when 
Preparations external dangers came there were not sufficient vir- 
for violence, ^-^jgg ^^ meet them. But the decline was gradual, 
and dangers were still at a distance. Both nature and art 
were the objects of perpetual panegyric, and the worldly and 
sensual Romans dreamed only of a millennium of protracted 

joys. 

The last experiment of a constitutional empire was sue- 



Chap. XL.] Septimius Severus, 531 

ceeded by undisguised military despotism, and no one now 
desired or expected the restoration of the republic. The 
Senate was servile and submissive, the people had no voice 
in public affairs, and the prefects of the imperial guard 
were the recognized lieutenants and often masters of the 
emperors. 

Pertinax succeeded to the sceptre of Commodus, a wise and 
good man, and great hopes were entertained of a pertinaxand 
beneficent reign, when they were suddenly blasted " ^'^""^' 
by a sedition of the praetorians, only eighty-six days after 
the death of Commodus, and these guards publicly sold the 
empire to Didius Julianus, a wealthy senator, at the price 
of one thousand dollars to each soldier. Such a bargain dis- 
gusted the capital, and raised the legions in the provinces to 
revolt. Each of the three principal armies set up their own 
candidate, but L. Septimius Severus, who com- 
manded in Illyricum, was the fortunate one, and 
was confirmed by the Senate. Didius Julianus was murdered 
after a brief reign of sixty-six days, and the prgetorians who 
had created the scandal were disbanded. 

The reign of this general was able and fortunate, although 
he was cruel and superstitious. His vigor prevented the 
separation of the empire for a century ; but he had power- 
ful rivals in Clodiiis Albinus, in Britain, and Pescennius 
Niger, in Syria, both of whom he subdued. At Lyons it is 
said that one hundred and fifty thousand Romans fought on 
both sides, when Albinus was killed. The fall of Niger at 
the Hellespont insured the submission of the East, and the^ 
victorious emperor penetrated as far as Ctesiphon, and 
received the submission of Mesopotamia and Arabia. The 
triumphal arch erected by him celebrated those military 
successes. 

Having bestowed peace, and restored the dignity of the 
empire, this martial prince established an undis- vigorous 
guised military despotism, and thi*ew aside all rus. 
deference to the Senate. He created a new guard of prsB- 
torian soldiers four times as numerous as the old, which were 



632 ^ Decline of the JSmpire. [Chap. xl. 

recruited from the ranks of the barbarians, who thus began 
to overawe the capital. The commander of this great force 
was no less a man than the celebrated jurist, Papianus, and 
he was the prime minister of the emperor. It was during 
his reign that a violent persecution of the Christians took 
place, A. D. 200, which called out the famous apology of Ter- 
tullian. Severus died in Britain, to which he was summoned 
by an irruption of Caledonians, a. d. 211, having reigned 
nineteen years, and with a vigor worthy of Trajan. 

He left two sons, who are best known by the names of 
Caracaiia Caracalla and Geta, and both of whom, in their 
andGeta. father's lifetime, had been raised to the dignity of 
Augustus. The oldest son succeeded to the empire, and the 
year after his elevation murdered his brother in his mother's 
arms. He also executed Papinian, the Praetorian prefect, be- 
cause he refused to justify the fratricide, together with twenty 
thousand persons who were the friends of Geta. After this 
wholesale murder he left his capital, and never returned to it, 
spending his time in different provinces, which were alternately 
the scene of his cruelty and rapine, a victim of the foulest 
superstitions of the East, and arrogant and vainglorious as he 
was savage. His tyranny became unendurable, and he was 
murdered by an agent of the Praetorian prefect, a. d. 217, 
Opilius Macrinus, who became the next emperor. 

Macrinus was only elevated to the purple by promising 
rich donations to the soldiers, for his rank was 

Macrinus. 

only that of a knight. He undertook to restore 
discipline in the army, and the licentious soldiery found a 
new candidate for the empire in the person of Avitus, of the 
family of Severus, a beautiful boy of seventeen, who officiated 
as priest of the sun in Syria, and whose name in history^ 
from the god he served, is called Elagabalus, or Heliogab- 
alus. But Macrinus was at the head of a formidable force, 
and fought his rival with bravery, but without success. 
•The battle was decided against him, and he was overtaken 
in flight and put to death, a. d. 218. 



Chap. XL.] Alexander Severus. 533 

With Elagabalus is associated the most repulsive and 
loathsome reign of all the emperors. He was j,,^^^^^^,^^ 
o-uiltv of the most shameless obscenities, and the ^ 
most deo-rading superstitions. He painted and dressed him- 
self like an Oriental prince ; he banqueted in halls hung with 
cloth of gold, and enriched with jewels ; he slept on mat- 
tresses stuffed with down found only under the wings of 
partridges ; he dined from tables of pure gold ; he danced 
in public, arrayed in the garb of a Syrian priest ; and he 
collected in his capital all the forms of idolatry and all 
the hideous abominations which even Grecian paganism 
despised. This wretch, who insulted every conse- ^.^ ^^^^ 
crated sentiment, was murdered after a reign of 
little more than three years, a. d. 222, and his body was 
thrown into the Tiber, and his memory branded with infamy 
by the Senate. 

The praetorians, who now controlled the State, offered the 
purple to his cousin, Alexander Severus, grand- Alexander 
nephew of Septimius Severus, an emperor who severas. 
adorned those degenerate times, and who resembled the 
great Aurelius in the severity of his virtues. His prime 
minister — the prefect of the prsetorian guards — was the cele- 
brated Ulpian, the greatest of Roman jurists, and next to 
him in dignity and power was the historian, Dion Cassius, 
consul, governor in Africa, and legate in Dalraatia. 

The ^reat labors of Alexander Severus were to quell the 
mutinous spirit of the praetorian guards, who 

., « , • . 1 1 ^1, His labors, 

reveled in the spoil of the empire ; to subdue the 
Persians ; and to repel barbarian inroads on the western 
frontiers. It Avas while he was in Thrace that a young bar- 
barian of gigantic stature solicited permission to contend for 
the prize of wrestling. Sixteen of the stoutest Roman soldiers 
he successively overthrew, and he was permitted to enlist 
among the troops. The next day he attracted the notice of the 
emperor, and again contended successfully with seven of the 
Roman champions, and received, at the handof the emperor, 
9, gold collar and a place in the body-guard. He rose, step 



634 Dedine of the JEmpire. [Chap. xl. 

by step, till appointed to discipline the recruits of the araiy 
of the Rliine. He became the favorite of the army, and was 
saluted as imperator. Severus fled to his tent, and was 
^ assassinated, a. d. 235. 

The savage, Maximin, who now governed the empire, 
ruled like a barbarian, as he was, disdaininsc all 
culture, and hostile to all refinements. Confisca- 
tions, exile, or death awaited the few illustrious men who 
His cruel- adorned the age. Only brute force was recognized 
*^®''- as a claim to imperial favor. The sole object of 

Maximin was to secure the favor of the soldiers, barbarians 
like himself, whom he propitiated with exorbitant donations, 
extorted by fines and confiscations, and derived from the sack 
of temples. Pie lived in the camp, and knew nothing of the 
cities he ruled. 
Such outrages of course provoked rebellion, and M. Anto- 
nius Gordianus, the proconsul of Africa, a descend- 
ant of the Gracchi and of Trajan, distinguished 
for wealth and culture, w^as proclaimed emperor, at the age 
of eighty, who associated with him, in the government, his 
son. The Senate confirmed the Gordians, who fixed their 
court at Carthage, but Maximin suppressed the insurrection, 
and proceeded to Rome to satisfy his vengeance. The 
Senate, in despair, conferred the purple on two members 
of their own body, Maximus, an able soldier, and Bal- 
binus, a poet and orator. The praetorians supported their 
Death of claims, and Maximin was assassinated in his tent, 
Maximin. ^^ j^^ 238. But the new emperors had scarcely 
given promise of a wise administration, before they in turn 
were assassinated by the praetorians, and Gordian, a grand- 
son of the first of that name, was elevated to the imperial 
dignity. He, again, was soon murdered in a mutiny of the 
soldiers, who elected Philip as his successor, a. d, 
^ *^' 244. This emperor, whose reign was marked by the 

celebration of the secular games with unwonted magnifi- 
cence, to commemorate the one thousand years since Roma 
Wfis founded, was put to death by the praetorian guards the 



Chap. XL.] Raid of the Goths. 535 

following year, and the dignity of Augustus was conferred 
on Decias. 

His reign is memorable for a savage persecution of the 
Christians, and the victories of the Goths, who, in Persecution 
the preceding reign, had penetrated to Dacia, and tiims. 
conquered Moesia. The next twenty years were mournful 
and disgraceful. The emperor marched against these bar- 
barians in person, but was defeated by them in Thrace, and 
lost his life at a place called Abrutum, a. d. 251. The Goths 
continued their ravages along the coasts of the Euxine, and 
made themselves masters of the Crimea. They ,, » 

•^ Ravages of 

then sailed, with a large fleet, to the northern parts ^^^ Goiiis. 
of the Euxine, took Pityus and Trapezus, attacked the 
wealthy cities of the Thracian Bosphorus, conquered Chal- 
cedon, Nicomedia, and Nice, and retreated laden with spoil. 
The next year, with five hundred boats, they pursued their 
destructive navigation, destroyed Cyzicus, crossed • the 
JEgean, landed at Athens, plundered Thebes, Argos, Corinth 
and Sparta, advanced to the coasts of Epirus, and devas- 
tated the whole lUyrian peninsula. In their ravages they 
destroyed the famous temple of Ephesus, and, wearied with 
plunder, returned through Moesia to their own settlements 
beyond the Danube. 

During this raid, the son of Decius, Hostilianus, reigned in 
conjunction with Gallus, one of the generals of Decius, but 
were put to death by ^milianus, governor of gygcgsj-jye 
Pannonia and Moesia, who had succeeded in emperors. 
gaining a victory over the new and terrible enemy. He was 
in turn overthrown by Valerianus — a nobleman of great dis- 
tinction, who signalized himself by considerable military 
ability, and w^ho associated with himself in the empire his son, 
Gallienus, a. d. 253, whose frivolities were an offset to the 
virtues of his father. Valerian was taken prisoner by Sapor, 
king of Persia, and shortly after died, and the Roman world 
relapsed under the sway of his son, and at a time of great 
calamity, memorable for the siiccesses of the Goths, and the 
direst pestilence which had^ ever visited the empire. Galli* 



536 Decline of the Empire, [Chap. xl. 

enus — not without accomplishments, but utterly unfit to 
govern an empire in the stormy times which wit- 

Gallienus. t i o • • ^ i /^ i 

nessed the nerce irruptions ol the Goths — was 
slain by a conspiracy of his officers, a. d. 268. 

The empire was now threatened bybarbarians, and wasted 
by pestilence, and distracted by rebellions and riots. It was 
on the verge of ruin; but the ruin was averted for one 
hundred years by a succession of great princes, who traced 
their origin to the martial province of Illyricum. The first of 
these emperors was Claudius, one of the generals of Galli- 
enus, and was fifty-four years of age when invested with the 
purple. He led the armies of the waning empire against the 
Alemanni, who had invaded Italy, and drove them 'beyond 
the Alps. But a fiercer- tribe of Germanic barbarians 
remained to be subdued or repelled — those who had devas- 
tated Greece — the Goths. They again appeared upon the 
Gothic inva- ^uxine with a fleet, variously estimated from two 
sions. thousand to six thousand vessels, carrying three 

hundred and twenty thousand men. A division of this vast, 
but undisciplined force, invaded Crete and Cyprus, but the 
main body ravaged Macedonia, and undertook the siege of 
Thessalonica. Claudius advanced to meet them, and gained at 
Defeat of the ^^.i^sus a Complete victory, where fifty thousand of 
barbarians. i\^q barbarians perished. A desultory war followed 
in Thrace, Macedonia, and Mcesia, which resulted in the 
destruction of the Gothic fleet, and an immense booty in 
captives and cattle. 

Claudius survived this great, but not decisive victory, but 
two years, and was carried Off by pestilence, at Sirmium, a. d. 
270 ; but not until he had designated for his successor a still 

greater man — the celebrated Aurelian, whose 

father had been a peasant. Every day of his short 
reign was filled with wonders. He put an end to the Gothic 
war, chastised the Germans who invaded Italy, recovered 

Gaul, Britain, and Spain, defeated the Alemanni, 

Zenobia- ,' ',^'. „ i-r» i 

who devastated the empire irom the Jro to the 
Danube, destroyed the proud monarchy which Zenobia had 



Chap. XL.] ZenoMa. 537 

built up in the deserts of the East, took the queen captive, and 
carried her to Rome, where he celebrated the most magnif- 
icent triumph which the world had seen since the days of 
Pompey and Coesar. This celebrated woman, equaling Cleo- 
patra in beauty, and Boadicea in valor, and blending the 
popular manners of the Roman princes with the stately pomp 
of Oriental kings, had retired, on her defeat, to the beautiful 
city which Solomon had built, shaded with palms, and orna- 
mented with palaces. There, in that Tadmor of the wilder- 
ness. Palmyra, the capital of her empire, which 
embraced a large part of Asia Minor, Syria, and 
Egypt, she had cultivated the learning of the Greeks, and 
the Oriental tongues of the countries she ruled, excelling 
equally in the chase and in war, the most truly accomplished 
woman of antiquity, — sprung, like Cleopatra, from the Greek 
kings of Egypt. Among her counselors was the celebrated 
Longinus — the most conspicuous ornament of the last age of 
Greek classic literature, and a philosopher who taught the wis- 
dom of Plato. When Palmyra was taken by Aurelian, this 
great man, who had stimulated Zenobia in her rebellion, was 
executed, without uttering a word of complaint, together with 
the people of the city, with remorseless barbarity, and the 
city of Solomon became an inconsiderable Arab town. The 
queen, who had fled, Avas pursued and taken, and 2;enobia tak- 
graced the magnificent triumph of the martial eQ captive. 
emperor. The captive queen was made to precede the tri- 
umphal chariot, on foot, loaded with fetters of gold, and 
arrayed in the most gorgeous dress of her former empire. 
She was not executed, but permitted to reside in the capital 
in the state of princes. 

This great and brilliant triumph — one of the last glories 
of the setting sun of Roman greatness — seemed to Triumpii of 
augur the restoration of the empire. The emperor Aureiian. 
was sanguine, and boasted that all external danger had 
passed away. But in a few months he was summoned to 
meet new enemies in the East, and he was murdered by a 
conspiracy of his officers, probably in revenge for the cruel- 



538 Decline of the Empire. [Chap. XL. 

ties and massacres lie had inflicted at Rome. In one of hid 
reforms a sedition arose, and was quelled inexorably by the 
slaughter of seven thousand of the soldiers, besides a large 
number of the leading nobles. 

His sceptre descended to Tacitus, a. d. 275, a descendant 
of the arreat historian ; a man, says Niebuhr, " who 

Tacitus. ° . '. ' -^ . . ' 

was great m every thing that could distinguish a 
senator ; he possessed immense property, of which he made 
a brilliant use ; he was a man of unblemished character ; he 
possessed the knowledge of a statesman, and had, in his 
youth, shown great military skill." Scarcely was he inaugu- 
rated as emperor before he marched against the Alans, a Scy^ 
thian tribe, who had ravaged Pontus, Cappadocia, Cilicia, and 
Galatea. He, however, lost his life amid the hardships of 
his first campaign, at the age of seventy-five, and after a 
brief reign of six months. 

The veteran general, M. Aurelius Probus, the commander 
of the Eastern provinces, was proclaimed emperor 
by the legions, although originally of peasant rank. 
He was forty-five years of age, and united the military 
greatness of Aurelian with political prudence, in all respects 
the best choice which could have been made, and one of 
the best and greatest of all the emperors. His six years of 
administration were marked by uninterrupted successes, and 
he won a fame equal to that of the ancient heroes. He restored 
peace and order in all the provinces ; he broke the power 
His warlike of the Sarmatians ; he secured the alliance of the 
career. Goths ; he drovc the Isaurians to their strongholds 

among their inaccessible mountains ; he chastised the rebel- 
lious cities of Egypt; he delivered Gaul from the Germanic 
barbarians ; he drove the Franks to their morasses at the 
mouth of tlie Rhine ; he vanquished the Burgundians who 
had wandered in quest of booty from the banks of the Oder; 
he defeated the Lygii, a fierce tribe on the borders of Sile- 
sia ; he extended his victories to the Elbe, and erected a wall, 
two hundred^miles in length, from the Danube to the Rhine; 
so that "there was not left," says Gibbon, "in all the 



Chap. XL.] Probus and Cams, 639 

provinces, a hostile barbarian, or tyrant, or even a robber." 
After having destroyed four hundred thousand of the bar- 
barians, he returned to his capital to celebrate a triumph, 
which equaled in splendor that of Aurelian. He, too, fan- 
cied that all external enemies were subdued forever, and 
that Rome should henceforth rejoice in eternal peace. But 
scarcely had the pseans of victory been sung by a triumphant 
and infatuated people, when he was assassinated in a mutiny 
of his own troops, whom he had compelled to labor in 
draining the marshes around Sirmium, a. d. 282. 

The soldiers, repenting the act as soon as it was done, 
conferred the purple on the praetorian prefect, and 
notified the Senate of its choice. And the choice 
was a good one ; and the new emperor, Cams, at sixty years 
of age, conferring the title of Caesar upon his two sons, 
Carinus and ISTumerian, whom he left to govern the West, 
hastened against the Sarmatians, who had overrun Illyricum. 
Successful in his objects, he advanced, in the depth of winter, 
throuo-h Thrace and Asia Minor to the confines of Persia. 
The Persian king, wishing to avert the storm, sent his em- 
bassadors to the imperial camp, and found the emperor 
seated on the grass, dining from peas and bacon, in all the 
simplicity of the early successors of Mohammed. But be- 
fore he could advance beyond the Tigris, his tent was struck 
by lightning, and he was killed, on Christmas day, a. d. 283. 

Carinus and Numerian succeeded to the vacant throne. 
The former, at Rome, diso;raced his trust by indo- ^ . 

' . . . Cannus. 

lence and shameless vices ; while the latter, in 
Ihe camp, was unfit, though virtuous, to control the turbulent 
soldiers, and Avas found murdered in his bed the very day 
that Carinus celebrated the games with unusual mag- 
nificence. 

The army raised C. Valerius Diocletianus to the vacant 
dignity, and his first act was to execute the murderer of 
Numerian. His next was to encounter Carinus in battle, 
who was slain, a. d. 285, and Diocletian — perhaps the great- 
est emperor after Augustus — reigned alone. 



540 Decline of the Empire. [Chap. xl. 

Diocletian is, however, rendered infamous in ecclesiastical 
history, as the most bitter of all the persecutors of 
the Christians, now a large and growing body ; but 
he was a man of tlie most distinguished abilities, though of 
obscure birth, in a little Dalmatian town. He commenced 
his illustrious reign at the age of thirty-nine, and reigned 
twenty years, — more as a statesman than warrior, — politic, 
judicious, indefatigable in business, and steady in his 
purposes. 

This emperor inaugurated a new era, and a new policy of 
Important government. The cares of State in a disordered 
changes. age, whcu the empire was threatened on every 
side by hostile barbarians, and disgraced by insurrections 
and tumults, induced Diocletian to associate with himself 
three colleagues, who had won fame in the wars of Aurelian 
and Carus. Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius — one of 
whom had the dignity of Augustus, and two that of Caesar. 

Maximian, associated with Diocletian, with the rank of 
Augustus, had been also an lUyrian peasant, and was 
assigned to the government of the western provinces, while 
Diocletian retained that of the eastern. Maximian estab- 
lished the seat of his government at Milan, giving a death- 
blow to the Senate, which, though still mentioned honorably 
by name, was henceforth severed from the imperial court. 
The empire had been ruled by soldiers ever since pressing 
dangers had made it apparent that only men of martial vir- 
tues could preserve it from the barbarians. But now the 
most undisguised military rule, uninfluenced by old consti- 
tutional form, was the only recognized autliority, and the 
warlike emperors, bred in the camp, had a disdain of the 
ancient capital, as well as great repugnance to the enervated 
praetorian soldiers, who made and unmade emperors,. whose 
privileges were abolished forever. Milan Avas selected for 
the seat of imperial government, from its proximity to the 
frontier, perpetually menaced by the barbarians ; and this 
city, before a mere military post, now assumed the splendor 
of an imperial city, and was defended by a double wall. 



Chap. XL.] Division of the Ernjpire. 541 

Diocletian made choice, at first, of Nicoraedia, the old cap- 
ital of the Bithynian kings, as the seat of his Eastern govern- 
ment, equally distant from the Danube and the ^^ 
Euphrates. He assumed the manner and state of government. 
an Oriental monarch. He wore a diadem set with pearls, 
and a robe of silk and gold instead of the simple toga with 
its purple stripe. His shoes were studded with precious 
stones, and his court was marked by Oriental cere- Oriental 
monials. His person was difficult of access, and Diocletian. 
the avenues to his palace were guarded by various classes of 
officers. No one could approach him without falling pros- 
trate in adoration, and he was addressed as " My lord the 
emperor." But he did not live in Oriental seclusion, and was 
perpetually called away by pressing dangers. 

The Caesars Galerius and Constantius were sent to govern 
the provinces on the frontiers ; the former, from his capital, 
Sirmium, in Illyricum, watched the whole frontier Gaienus 
oi the Danube ; the latter spent his time in Brit- stantius. 
ain. Galerius was adopted by Diocletian, and received his 
daughter Valeria in marriage ; while Constantius was 
adopted by Maxiraian, and married his daughter Theodora. 

The division of the emj^ire mider these four princes nearly 
corresponded with the prefectures which Constantine subse- 
quently established, and which were deemed necessary to 
preserve the empire from dissolution — a dissolution inevitable, 
had it not been for the great emperors whom the necessities 
of the empire had raised up, but whose ruin was only for a 
time averted. ISTot even able generals and good emperors 
could save the corrupted empire. It was doomed. Vice had 
prepared the way for violence. The four emperors, who now 
labored to prevent a catastrophe, were engaged in perpetual 
conflicts, and through their united eflbrts peace was restored 
throughout the empire, and the last triumph that Rome ever 
saw was celebrated by them. 

Only one more enemy, to the eye of Diocletian, remained 
to be subdued, and this was Christianity. But this enemy 
was unconquerable. Silently, sui'ely, without pomp, and 



^1 

542 Decline of the Emjpire. [Chap. xl. ^ 

without art, the new religion had made its way, against 
all opposition, prejudice, and hatred, from Jews and pagans 
Persecution alike, and was now a power in the empire. The 

of Chris- ' ^ ^ 

tians. followers of the hated sect were, however, from the 

humble classes, and but few great men had arisen among 
them, and even these were unimportant to the view of phi- 
losophers and rulers. The believers formed an esoteric circle, 
and were lofty, stern, and hostile to all the existing institu- 
tions of society. They formed an hnperhon m im2)erio, but 
did not aim, at this time, to reach political power. They 
were scattered throughout the great cities of the empire, and 
were ruled by their bishops and ministers. They did not 
make war on men, but on their ideas and habits and cus- 
toms. They avoided all external conflicts, and contended 
with devils and passions. But government distrusted and 
disliked them, and sought at different times to exterminate 
them. There had already been nine signal persecutions from 
the time of Kero, and yet they had constantly increased in 
numbers and influence. But now a more serious attack was to 
be made upon them by the emperors, provoked, probably, by 
the refusal of some Christians to take the military oath, and 
The reason scrvc in the armics, ou conscientious principles; 
secution. but interpreted by those in authority as disloyalty 
in a great national crisis. The mind of the emperor was 
alienated ; and both Galerius and Diocletian resolved that 
a religion which seemed hostile to the political relations of 
the empire, should be suppressed. A decree was issued to 
destroy all the Christian churches, to confiscate their prop- 
erty, to burn the sacred writings, to deprive Christians of 
their civil rights, and even to doom them to death. The 
decree which was publicly exhibited in Nicomedia, was torn 
down by a Christian, who expressed the bitterest detestation 
of the tyrannical governors. The fires which broke out in the 
palace were ascribed to the Christians, and the command was 
finally issued to imprison all the ministers of religion, and 
punish those who protected them. A persecution which has 
had no parallel in history, was extended to all j)arts of the 



Chap. XL.] Persecution of the Christians. 543 

emj)ire. The whole civil power, goaded by the old priests 
of paganism, was employed in searching out victims, and all 
classes of Christians were virtually tormented and murdered. 
The earth groaned for ten years under the sad calamity, and 
there was apparently no hope. But whether scourged, or 
lacerated, or imprisoned, or burned, the martyrs showed 
patience, faith, and moral heroism, and invoked death to 
show its sting, and the grave its victory. 

The persecution of the Christians — this attempt to suppress a 
religion thought to be hostile to the imperial authority, and 
not without some plausibility, since many Christians refused 
to be enrolled in the armies, and suffered death sooner than 
enlist — was the last great act of Diocletian. Whether wearied 
with the cares of State, or disofusted with his Retirement 

-. • -11 . 1 -, n ofDiocle- 

duties, or ill, or craving rest and repose, he took tian.. 
the extraordinary resolution of abdicating his throne, at the 
very summit of his power, and at the age of fifty-nine. He 
influenced Maximian to do the same, and the two Augusti gave 
place to the two Caesars. The double act of resignation was 
performed at Nicomedia and Milan, on the same day. May 1, 
A. D. 305. Diocletian took a graceful farewell of his soldiers, 
and withdrew to a retreat near his native city of Salon se, on 
the coast of the Adriatic. He withdrew to a mao-nificent 
palace, which he had built on a square of six hundred feet, 
in a lovely and fertile spot, in sight of the sea, and the 
mountains, and luxurious plains. He there devoted himself 
to the pleasures of agriculture, and planted cabbages with 
his own hand, and refused all solicitations to resume his 
power. But his repose was alloyed by the sight of 
increasing troubles, and the failure of the system lie had 
inaugurated. If the empire could not be governed by one 
master, it could not be governed by four, with their different 
policies and rivalries. He lived but nine years in retire- 
ment ; but long enough to see his religious policy reversed, 
by the edict of Milan, which confirmed the Christian religion, 
and the whole imperial fabric which he had framed reversed 
by Constantine. 



544 Decline of the Enijpire. [Chap. xl. 

Confusion followed his abdication. Civil wars instead of 
The evils barbaric wasted the empire. The ancient heart 

which flowed ^ . „ 

from it. 01 the empire had no longer the presence oi an 
Augustus, and a new partition virtually took place, by which 
Italy and Africa became dependencies of the East. Gale- 
rius — now Augustus — assumed the right to nominate the 
two new Csesars, one of whom was his sister's son, who 
assumed the name of Galerius Valerius Maximinus, to whom 
were assigned Syria and Egypt, and the other was his faith- 
ful servant, Severus, who was placed over Italy and Africa. 
According: to the forms of the constitution, he was subor- 
dinate to Constantius, but he was devoted to Galerius. The 
emperor Constantius, then in Boulogne, was dying, and his 
son, Constantine, was at the court of Galerius. Though sum- 
moned to the bedside of his father, Galerius sought to retain 
him, but Constantine abruptly left Nicomedia, evaded Seve- 
rus, traversed Europe, and reached his father, who was just 
setting out for Britain, to repel an invasion of the Caledo- 
nians. He reached York only to die, a. d. 306, and with his 
last breath transmitted his empire to his son, and 

Death of ^ ^ , . , . ^^ r^ ■, - 

Constantius. commeudcd him to the soldiers. Galerius was 
transported with rage, but was compelled to submit, and 
named Constantine Caesar over the western provinces, who 
was not elevated to the dignity of Augustus till two years 
later. 

The elevation of Severus to supreme power in Italy by 
Galerius, filled the abdicated emperor Maximian with indig- 
nation, and humiliated the Roman people. The praetorians 
rose against the party of Severus, who retired to Ravenna, 
and soon after coinmitted suicide. The Senate assumed their 
old prerogative, and conferred the purple on Maxentius, the 
son of Maximilian. Galerius again assumed the power of 
nominating an Augustus, and bestowed the purple, made 
vacant by the death of Severus, on an old comrade, Licinius, 
originally a Dacian peasant. 

Thus, there were six emperors at a time ; Constantine, in 
Britain ; Maximian, who resumed the purple ; Maxentius, 



Chap. XL.] Six Emjperovs, 545 

his son ; Licinius Galerius, in the East ; and Maxiniin, his 
nephew. Maximian crossed the Alps in person, won g.^ ^^ 
over Constantine to his party, aiid gave him his r*^'*- 
daughter, Fausta, in marriage, and conferred upon him the 
rank of Augustus ; so, in the West, Maxentius and Constan- 
tine affected to be subordinate to Maximian ; while, in the 
East, Licinius and Maximin obeyed the orders of their bene- 
factor, Galerius. The sovereigns of the East and West 
were hostile to each other, but their mutual fears produced 
an apparent tranquillity, and a feigned reconciliation. 

The first actual warfare, however, broke out between Max- 
imian and his son. Maxentius insisted on the 
renewed abdication of his father, and had the sup- 
port of >the praetorian guards. Driven into exile, he returned 
to Gaul, and took refuge with his son and daughter, Avho 
received him kindly ; but in the absence of Constantine, he 
seized the treasure to bribe his troops, and was holding com- 
munication with Maxentius when Constantine returned from 
the Rhine. The old intriguer had only time to throw him- 
self into Marseilles, where he strangled himself, when the city 
was hard pressed by Constantine, a. d. 310. 

In a year after, Galerius died, like Herod Agrippa, a prey 
to loathsome vermin — morbus pediculosus^ and his j^p^^tj^of 
dominions were divided between Maximin and Gakrius. 
Licinius, each of whom formed secret alliances with Maxen- 
tius and Constantine, between whom was war. 

The tyranny of Maxentius led his subjects to look to Con- 
stantine as a deliverer, who marched to the relief Elevation of 
of the Senate and Roman people. He crossed the <^oiistautine. 
Alps with forty thousand men. Maxentius collected a force 
of one hundred and seventy thousand, to maintain which he 
had the wealth of Italy, Africa, and Sicily. Constantine 
first encountered the lieutenants of Maxentius in the plains 
of Turin, and gained a complete victory, the prize of 
which Avas Milan, the new capital of Italy. He was 
advancing to Rome on the Flaminian way, before Maxentius 
was aroused to his danger, being absorbed in pleasures. A 

35 



546 Decline of the Empire. [Chap. xl. 

few miles from Rome was fought the battle of Saxa Rubra, 
A. D. 312, between the rival emperors, at which Maxentius 
perished, and Constantine 'was greeted by the Senate as the 
first of the three surviving Augusti. The victory of Con- 
stantine was commemorated by a triumphal arch, which still 
remains, and which was only a copy of the arch of Trajan. 
„ The ensuing^ winter was s^ent in Rome, diirin<j 

Successos of '^ ^ '■ 5 o 

Constantiue. which Constantiiic abolished forever the prjBtorian 
guards, which had given so many emperors to the world. 
In the spring Constantine gave his daughter Constantia in 
marriage to Licinius, but was soon called away to the 
Rhine by an irruption of Franks, while Licinius marched 
against Maximin, and defeated him under the walls of 
Heraclea. Maxiraih retj'eated to Nicomedia, and was about 
to renew the war, when he died at Tarsus, and Licinius 
became master of the Eastern provinces. 

There were now but two emperors, one in the East, and 
Conversion the Other in the West. Constantine celebrated the 

ofCoustan- . .„. , . . __., 

tine. restoration oi tranquillity by promulgating at Milan 

an edict in favor of universal religious toleration, and the 
persecution of the Christians by the pagans was ended for- 
ever, in Europe. About this time Constantine himself was 
converted to the new relig-ion. In his inarch ao:ainst Maxen- 
tins, it is declared by Eusebius, that he saw at noonday a 
cross in the heavens, inscribed with the words, "By this 
conquer." It is also asserted that the vision of the cross was 
seen by the whole army, and the cross henceforth became 
the standard of the Christian emperors. It was called the 
Labarwn, and is still seen on the coins of Constantine, and 
was intrusted to a chosen guard of fifty men. It undoubt- 
edly excited enthusiasm in the army, now inclined to accept 
the new faith, and Constantine himself joined the progressive 
party, and made Christianity the established religion of the 
Establish- empire. Henceforth the protection of the Christian 
Christianity, religion became one of the cherished objects of his 
soul, and although his life was stained by superstitions and 
many acts of cruelty and wickedness, Constantine stands out 



Chap. XL.] Grand Victory of Constantine. 547 

in history as the first Christian emperor. For this chiefly he 
is famous, and a favorite with ecclesiastical writers. The 
edict of Milan is an era in the world's progress. But he was 
also a great sovereign, and a great general. 

The harmony between so ambitious a man and Licinius 
was not of lons^ duration. Rival interests and „ 

•^ ^ Eenewcd 

different sympathies soon led to the breaking out w-'^^'s- 
of hostilities, and Licinius was defeated in two great battles, 
and resigned to Constantine all his European possessions, 
except Thrace. The nine successive years were spent by 
Licinius in slothful and vicious pleasures, while Constantine 
devoted his energies to the suppression of barbarians, and the 
enactment of important laws. He repulsed the Gothic and 
Sarmatian hordes, who had again crossed the Danube, and 
pursued them into Dacia ; nor did the Goths secure peace 
until they had furnished forty thousand recruits to the 
Roman armies. This recruiting of the imperial armies from 
the barbarians was one of the most melancholy signs of 
decaying strength, and indicated approaching ruin. 

In the year 323 a new civil war broke out between Con- 
stantine and Licinius. The aged and slothful victory of 
Eastern emperor roused himself to a grand effort ovei^ 
and marshaled an army of one hundred and fifty •^^*^'"^'^^- 
thousand foot and fifteen thousand horse on the plains of 
Hadrianople, while his fleet of three hundred and fifty 
triremes commanded the Hellespont. Constantine collected 
an army of one hundred and twenty thousand men at Thes- 
salonica, and advanced to attack his foe, intrenched in a 
strong position. The battle was decided in favor of Con- 
stantine, who slew thirty-four thousand of his enemies, and 
took the fortified camp of Licinius, who fled to Byzantium, 
July, A. D. 323. 

The fleet of Licinius still remained, and with his superior 
naval force he might have baffled his rival. But fortune, or 
valor, again decided in favor of the Western emperor, and 
after a fight of two days the admiral of Licinius retired to 
Byzantium. The siege of this city was now pressed with 



548 Decline of the Empire, [Chap. xl. 

valor by Constantine, and Licinius fled with his treasures to 
Chalcedoii, and succeeded in raising another arn.y of fifty 
thousand men. These raw levies were, however, powerless 
against the veterans of Constantine, whom he led in person. 
The decisive battle was fought at Chrysopolis, and Licinius 
retired to Nicomedia, but soon after abdicated, and was ban- 
Death of ished to Thessalonica. There he was not long 
Licinius. permitted to remain, being executed by order 
of Constantine, one of the foul blots on his memory and 
character. 

The empire was now reunited under a single man, at the 
Crmstantine ^^^* ^^ ^'^^* treasures and lives. ' The policy of 
reigns alone. Diocletian had only inaugurated civil war. There 
is no empire so vast which can not be more easily governed 
by one man than by two or four. It may be well for em- 
pires to be subdivided, like that of Charlemagne, but it is 
impossible to prevent civil wars w^hen the power is shared 
equally by jealous rivals. It was better for the Roman 
world to be united under Octavius, than divided between 
him and Antonius. 

On the fall of Byzantium, Constantine was so struck with 
Foundation its natural advantasres, that he resolved to make it 



of Constan- 



»^"? 



tinopie. the capital of the empire. Placed on the inner of 
two straits which connect the Euxine and the JEgean with 
the Mediterranean, on the frontiers of both Europe and Asia, 
it seemed to be the true centre of political power, while its 
position could be itself rendered impregnable against any 
external enemy that threatened the Roman work;!. The 
wisdom of the choice of Constantine, and his unrivaled saga- 
city, were proved by the fact, that while Rome was success- 
ively taken and sacked by Goths and Vandals, Constanti- 
nople remained the capital of the eastern Roman emjDire for 
eleven continuous centuries. 

The reign of Constantine as sole emperor was marked by 
Council of another event, a. d. 325, which had a great in- 
Hice. fluence on the subsequent condition of the world in 

a moral and religious point of view, and this was the famous 



Chap. XL.] Council of Niccea, 549 

Council of Nicaea, which assembled to settle points of faith 
and discipline in the new religion which was now established 
throughout the empire. It is called the first Ecumenical, 
or General Council, and was attended by three hundred and 
eighteen bishops, with double the number of presbyters, 
assembled from all parts of the Christian world. Here the 
church and the empire met face to face. In this council the 
emperor left the cares of State, and the command of armies, 
to preside over discussions on the doctrine of the Trinity, as 
expounded by two great rival parties, — one headed by 
Athanasius, then archdeacon, afterward archbishop 

. . . Athanasius. 

of Alexandria — the greatest theologian that had as 
yet appeared in the churchy — and the other by Arius, a 
simple presbyter of Alexandria, but a man of subtle and 
commanding intellect. Arius maintained that the Son, the 
second person of the Trinity, derived his being from the 
Father within the limits of time, and was secondary to him 
in power and glory. Athanasius maintained that the Son 
was co-eternal with the Father, and the same in substance 
with the Father. This theological question had long been 
discussed, and the church was divided between the n.u i • i 

' Theological 

two parties, each of which exhibited extreme acri- discussion 

, on the 

mony. Constantine leaned to the orthodox side, I'^inity. 
although his most influential adviser, Eusebius, bishop of 
Csesarea, the historian, inclined to the Arian view. But the 
emperor was more desirous to secure peace and unity, than 
the ascendency of any dogma, and the doctrine of Athana- 
sius became the standard of faith, and has since remained the 
creed of the church. 

After the settlement of the faith of the church, now becom- 
ing the great power of the world, the reign of Constantine 
was disgraced by a domestic tragedy seldom par- Assassina- 
alleled in history. His son, Crispus, by a low- Cmpus. 
born woman, conspicuous for talents and virtues, either 
inflamed the jealousy of his father, or provoked him by a 
secret conspiracy. It has never been satisfactorily settled 
whether he was a rival or a conspirator, but he was accused, 



550 Decline of the Empire, [Chap. xl. 

tried, and put to death, in the twentietli year of the reign, 
while Constantine was celebrating at Rome the festival of 
his vicennalia. After this bloody tragedy, for which he is 
generally reproached, he took his final departure from Rome, 
and four years after, the old capital Avas degraded to the rank 
of a secondary city, and Constantinople was dedicated as the 
„, new capital of the empire. From the eastern 

capital. promontory to the Golden Horn, the extreme length 
of Constantinople was three Roman miles, and the circumfer- 
ence measured ten, inclosing an area of two thousand acres, 
besides the suburbs. The new city was divided into fourteen 
wards, and was ornamented with palaces, fora, and churches. 
The church of St. Sophia was built on the site of an old tem- 
ple, and was in the form of a Greek cross, surmounted by a 
beautiful and lofty dome. In a century afterward, Constan- 
tinople rivaled Rome in magnificence. It had a capitol, a 
circus, two theatres, eight public baths, fifty-two porticoes, 
eight aqueducts, four halls, and fourteen churches, and four 
thousand three hundred and eighty-three large palatial 
residences. 

After the building of this new and beautiful city, Constan- 
tine devoted himself to the internal regulation of the empire. 
New divis- whicli he divided into four prefectures, subdivided 

ions of the . , . ... , i i • 

empire. mto thirteen dioceses, each governed by vicars or 
vice-prefects, who were styled counts and dukes. The prov- 
inces were subdivided to the number of one hundred and 
sixteen. Three of these were governed by proconsuls, thirty- 
seven by consuls, five by correctors, and seventy-one by 
presidents, chosen from the legal profession, and called 
clarissimi. The prefecture of the East embraced the Asiatic 
provinces, together with Egyj)t, Thrace, and the lower 
Moesia ; that of Illyricum contained the countries between 
the Danube, the JEgean, and the Adriatic ; that of Italy ex 
tended over the Alps to the Danube ; and that of the Gauls 
embraced the western provinces beyond the Rhine and the 
Alps. 

The military power was separated from the civil. There 



Chap. XL.] Civil Divisions of the Empire, 551 

were two master-generals, one of infantry, and the other of 
cavah'Y, afterward increased to eisj-ht, under whom -,, 

*' ' o 5 Changes m 

were thirty-five commanders, ten of whom were theaimy. 
counts, and twenty dukes. Tlie legions were reduced from 
six thousand to fifteen hundred men. Their number was 
one hundred and thirty-two, and the complete force of the 
empire was six hundred and forty-five thousand, holding five 
hundred and eighty-three permanent stations. 

The ministers of the j^alace, who exercised difierent func- 
tions about the presence of the emperor, were seven in num- 
ber : the prefect of the bed-chamber : a eunuch, who „, . . 

^ ' ' The minis- 

waited on the emperor; the master of offices — *®^^- 

the supreme magistrate of the palace ; the quaestor — at the 

head of the judicial administration, and who composed the 

orations and edicts of the emperor ; the treasurer, and two 

counts of domestics, who commanded the body-guard. 

The bishopric nearly corresponded with the civil divisions 
of the empire, and the bishops had different ranks. The wshop- 
We now observe archbishops and metropolitans. ^^^^" 

The new divisions complicated the machinery of govern- 
ment, and led to the institution of many new offices, which 
greatly added to the expense of government, for which 
taxation became more rigorous and oppressive. The old 
♦constitution was completely subverted, and the emperor 
became an Oriental monarch. 

Constantino was called away from his labors of organiza- 
tion to resist the ambition of Sapor II., when he peathof 
died, at the age of sixty-four, at his palace near Coustantine 
Nicomedia, a. d. 337, after a memorable but tumultuous 
reign — memorable for the recognition of Christianity as a 
State religion ; tumultuous, from civil wars and contests 
with barbarians. Constantinople, not Rome, became the 
future capital of the empire. 



CHAPTER XLI. 

THE FALL OF THE EMPIRE. 

After the death, of Constantine, the decline was rapid, 
and new dangers multiplied. Warlike emperors had staved 
off the barbarians, and done all that man could do to 
avert ruin. But the seeds of ruin were planted, and must 
bear their wretched fruit. The seat of empire was removed 
to a new city, more able, from its position, to withstand the 
shock which was to come. In the strife between new and 
hardy races, and the old corrupt population, the issue could 
not be doubtful. The empire had fulfilled its mission. 
Christianity was born, protected, and rendered triumphant. 
Nothing more was wanted than the conversion of the bar- 
barians to the new faith before desolation should overspread 
the world — and a State prepared for new ideas, passions, and 
interests. 

Constantine left three sons and two daughters, by Fausta,i 
the daughter of Maximian, — Constantinus, Constantius, 
The heirs of Constans, Coustantina, and Helena. The impe- 
constantine. ^.-^^ dignity was enjoyed by the sons, and the 
youngest daughter, Helena, married the emperor Julian, 
grandson of Constantius Chlorus. The three sons of Con- 
stantine divided the empire between them. The oldest, at the 
age of twenty-one, retained the prefecture of Gaul ; Constan- 
tius, aged twenty, kept Thrace and the East ; while Constans, 
the youngest, at the age of seventeen, added the Italian pre- 
fecture with Greece. 

The ablest of these princes was Constantius, on whom fell 
the burden of the Persian war, and which ulti- 

Conatantius. 

mately ended on the defeat of Julian, in Sapor 



Chap, xli.] Death of Athanasius, 553 

wresting from the emperor all the countries beyond the 
Eu]3hrates. 

Constantine 11. was dissatisfied with his share of the em- 
pire, and compelled Constans to yield up Alrica, but was slain 
in an expedition beyond the Julian Alps, a. d. 340. 

Constans held the empire of the West for ten years, during 
which he carried on war with the Franks, upon the ^ ^ 

' *■ . Constana. 

Rhine, and with the Scots and Picts. His vices 
were so disgraceful that a rebellion took place, under Mag- 
nentius, who slew Constans, a. d. 350, and reigned in his 
stead, the seat of his government being Treves. 

Constantius II. made war on the usurper, Magnentius, a 
rough barbarian, and finally defeated him on the war with 
banks of the Danube, where fifty-four thousand men -^^gn^^^ti'is. 
perished in battle, soon after which the usurper killed himself. 

Constantius, by the death of his brother, and overthrow 
of Magnentius, was now sole master of the empire, and 
through his permission Athanasius was restored to the arch- 
bishopric of Alexandria, but was again removed, the emperor 
beinof an Arian. This second removal raised a tumult in 
Alexandria, and he was allowed to return to his see, Death of 
where he lived in peace until he died, a. d. 372 — the 
great defender of the orthodox creed, which finally was 
established by councils and the emperors. 

The emperor Constantius was engaged in successive wars 
with the barbarians, — with the Persians on the East, ^^rs of 
the Sarmatians on the Danube, and the Franks and C'>°st''^°t^^8. 
Alemauni, on the Rhine. During these wars, his brother-in- 
law, Julian, was sent to the West with the title of Csesai', 
where lie restored order, and showed signal ability. On the 
death of Constantius, he was recognized as emperor without 
oi^position, a. d. 361. 

Julian is generally called the Apostate, since he proclaimed 
a chano-e in the established religjion, but tolerated 

^ . . . . . Julian. 

Christianity. He was a Platonic philosopher — a 

man of great virtue and ability, whose life was unstained by 

vices. But his attempt to restore paganism was senseless 



554 Fall of the Eiripire, [Chap. xlt. 

and ineffectual. As a popular belief, paganism had expired. 
His character is warmly praised by Gibbon, and commended 
by other historians. He struggled against the spirit of his 
age, and was unsuccessful. He was worthy of the best ages 
of the empire in the exercise of all pagan virtues — the true 
successor of Hadrian and the Antonines. 

He was also a great general, and sought to crush the 
Death of powcr of the Persian kings and make Babylonia a 
Julian. Roman province. Here, too, he failed, although 

he gained signal successes. He was mortally wounded while 
effecting a retreat from the Tigris, after a short reign of 
twenty months. With him ended the house of Constantine. 
The empire was conferred by the troops on Flavins Claudius 
Jovianus, chief of the imperial household, a. d. 363 
ovian. — ^ voidin of moderate talents and good intentions, 

but unfit for such stormy times. He restored Christianity, 
which henceforth was the national religion. He died the 
following year, and was succeeded by Flavins Yalentinianus, 
the son of Count Gratian, a general who had arisen from 
obscurity in Pannonia, to the command of Africa and 
Britain. 

Valentinian was forty-four years of age when he began to 
reign, a. d. 364, a man of noble character and 
person, and in a month associated his brother 
Flavins Valens with him in the government of the empire. 
Valentinian kept the West, and conferred the East on Yalens. ' 
Thus was the empire again formally divided, and was not 
reunited until the reisrn of Theodosius. Valentinian chose 
the post of danger, rather than of pleasure and luxury, for 
the West was now invaded by various tribes of the Germanic 
race. The Alemanni were powerful on the Rhine ; the 
Barbaric Saxons wcrc invading Britain ; the Burgundians 
invasions. were commencing their ravages in Gaul ; and the 
Goths were preparing for another inroad. The emperor, 
whose seat of power was Milan, was engaged in perpetual, 
but indecisive conflicts. He reigned with vigor, and repressed 
the barbarians. He bestowed the title of Augustus on his 



Chap, xli.] Battle of Hadrianojole. 555 

son Gratian, and died in a storm of wrath by the bursting 
of a blood-vessel, while reviling the embassadors of the 
Quadi, A. D. 375. 

The emperor Yalens, at Constantinople, was exposed to 
no less dangers, without the force to meet them. 
The great nation of the Goths, who had been at 
peace with the empire for a generation, resumed their hostili- 
ties upon the Danube. Hermanric, the first historic name 
among these fierce people, had won a series of brilliant vic- 
tories over other barbarians, after he was eighty years of 
age. His dominions extended from the Danube to the 
Baltic, and embraced the greater part of Germany and 
Scythia. 

But the Goths were invaded by a fierce race of barbari- 
ans, more savage than themselves, from the banks q^^^^^ ^^, 
of the Don, called Scythians, or Huns, of Sclavonic vasion. ^ 
origin. Pressed by this new enemy, they sought shelter in 
the Roman territory. Instead of receiving them as allies, the 
emperor treated them as enemies. Hostages from the flower 
of their youth were scattered through the cities of Asia 
Minor, while the corrupt governors of Thrace annoyed them 
by insults and grievances. The aged Hermanric, exas- 
perated by misfortune, made preparations for a general war, 
while Sarmatians, Alans, and Huns united with them. After 
three indecisive campaigns, the emperor Valens advanced to 
attack their camp near Hadrianople, defended by Fritigern. 
Under the walls of this city was fought the most bloody 
and disastrous battle which Rome ever lost, a. d. 378. Two- 
thirds of the imperial army was destroyed, the j^^^^^ ^f 
emperor was slain, and the remainder fled in con- ^aie^s- 
sternation. Sixty thousand infantry and six thousand 
cavalry lay dead upon the fatal field. The victors, intoxi- 
cated with their success, invested Hadrianople, but were 
unequal to the task, being inexperienced in sieges. Laden 
with spoil, they retired to the western boundaries of Thrace. 
From the shores of the Bosphorus to the Julian Alps, noth- 
ing was seen but conflagration, murder, and devastation. So 



^5Q Fall of the Empire, [Chap. xli. 

great were the misfortunes of the lUyrian proAances, that they 
Eava-'es of ^^^^1' afterward recovered. Churches were turned 
the Goths, j^to stablcs, palaces were burned, works of art 
were destroyed, the relics of martyrs were desecrated, the 
population decimated,* and the "provinces were overrun. 

In this day of calamity a hero and deliverer was needed. 

The feeble Gratian, who ruled in the West, cast his eyes 

upon an exile, whose father, an eminent general, had been 

unjustly murdered by the emperor Valentinian. 

eof osms. rpj^-g j^^lu was Thcodosius, then living in modest 
retirement on his farm near Yalladolid, in Spain, as unambi- 
tious as David among his sheep, as contented as Cincinnatus 
at the plow. Even Gibbon does not sneer at this great 
Christian emperor, who revived for a while the falling 
empire. He accepted the sceptre of Valens, a. d. 379, and 
the conduct of the Gothic war, being but thirty-three years 
of age. One of the greatest of all the emperors, and the last 
great man who swayed the sceptre of Trajan, his ancestor, 
he has not too warmly been praised by the Church, whose 
defender he was — ^the last flickering light of an expiring 
monarchy, — although his character has been assailed by 
modern critics of great respectability. 

As soon as he was invested with the purple, he took up his 
Successes residence in Thessalonica, and devoted his energies 

over the , . , . . . ^ , 

Goths. to the task assigned him by the necessities of the 

empire. He succeeded in putting a stop to the progress of 
the Goths, disarmed them by treaties, and allowed them to 
settle on the right bank of the Danube, within the limits of 
the empire. He invited the aged Athanaric to his capital 
and table, who was astonished by his riches and glory. 
Peace was favored by the death of Fritigern, and forty thou- 
sand Goths were received as soldiers of the empire, — an 
impolitic act. 

At this period the Goths settled in Moesia were visited by 

Ulphilas, a Christian missionary and Arian bishop, 

who translated the Bible, and had great success in 

the conversion of the barbarians to a nominal faith. This is 



Chap, xll] Ambrose. 557 

the earliest instance of the reception of the new faith by the 
Germanic races. 

While Theodosius was restoring the eastern empire, Gra- 
tian relapsed into indolent pleasures at Milan, 
which provoked a revolution. Maximus was pro- 
claimed emperor by the legions in Britain, and invaded Gaul. 
Gratian fled, with a retinue of three hundred horse, and was 
overtaken and slain. Theodosius recognized the claims of 
the usurper, unwilling to waste the blood of the enfeebled 
soldiers in a new civil war, provided that Italy and Africa 
were secured to Valentinian II., the younger brother vaientinian 
of Gratian. The young emperor made himself un- ^^' 
popular by espousing Arianism,and for being governed by his 
mother Justina, and four years after was obliged to flee to 
Thessalonica, on an invasion of Italy by Maximus, and invoke 
the aid of Theodosius, who responded to his call, won by the 
charms of the princess Galla, whom he married. Maximus 
was defeated, put to death, and Valentinian II. was replaced 
upon his throne. 

It was when Maximus was triumphant in Gaul that the 
celebrated Ambrose, archbishop of Milan, was sent 

, T T 1 1 T 1 1 Ambrose. 

to the usurper s camp to demand the dead body 
of the murdered Gratian. But this intrepid prelate made 
himself still more famous for his defense of orthodoxy against 
the whole power of Valentinian IL and his mother. He is 
also immortalized for the chastisement he inflicted upon 
Theodosius himself for the slaughter of Thessalonica. The 
emperor was in Milan when intelligence arrived of a sedition 
m the city, caused by factions of the circus, during which 
Boderic, the commander of the imperial troops, was killed. 
This outrage was revenged by the wanton massacre of seven 
thousand people. The news of this barbarity filled Ambrose 
with horror, and he wrote a letter to the emperor, which led 
to his repentance ; but as he was about to enter the basilica, 
the prelate met him at the door, and refused ad- pe^anceof 
mission until he had expiated his crime by a rigorous Theodosius; 
penance, and the emperor submitted to the humiliation — an 



658 Fall of the Emjpire, [Chap. xli. 

act of submission to the Church which was much admired — 
an act of ecclesiastical authority which formed a precedent 
for the heroism of Hildebrand. 

Under the influence of the clergy, now a great power, 
Theodosius Theodosius the same year promulgated an edict 
chuich. for the suppression of all acts of pagan worship, 
private and public, under heavy penalties, and the Church, 
in turn, became persecuting. At this time the corruption 
of the Church made rapid progress. Pretended miracles, 
pious frauds, the worship of saints, veneration for relics, 
ascetic severities, monastic superstitions, the pomp of bishops, 
and a secular spirit marked the triumph of Christianity over 
paganism. The Church was united to the State, and the 
profession of the new faith was made a necessary qualifica- 
tion for the enjoyment of civil rights. But the Church was 
now distinguished for great men, who held high rank, theo- 
logians, and bishops, like Augustine, Ambrose, Chrysostom, 
Gregory Nazianzen, Basil, Eusebius, and Martin of Tours. 

Theodosius died in Milan, in the arms of Ambrose, a. d. 
Death of ^^^j ^^^ with him the genius of Rome expired, 
Theodosius. ^jj^| ^j^g j.g^j drama of the fall of the empire began. 
He was siiicceeded by his two sons, Arcadius and Honorius, 
the one in the East and the other in the West, the former 
. ^. ^ beino; under the tutelasfe of Rufinus, the latter 

Arcadius and => '^ ' 

Honorius. under the care of Stilicho, master-general of the 
armies. Both emperors were unworthy or unequal to main- 
tain their inheritances. The barbarians gained fresh courage 
from the death of Theodosius, and recommenced their rav- 
ages. The soldiers of the empire were dispirited and ener- 
vated, and threw away their defensive armor. They even 
were not able to bear the weight of the cuirass and helmet, 
and the heavy weapons of their ancestors were exchanged 
for the bow. Thus they were exposed to the deadly mis- 
siles of their enemies, and fled upon the approach of danger. 
Gainas the Goth, who commanded the legions, slew Rufinus 
in the presence of Arcadius, who abandoned himself at Con- 
stantinople to the influence of the eunuch Eutropius, most 



Chap, xli.] Final Division of the Emjpire, 559 

celebrated for introducing Chrysostom to the court. The 
eunuch minister soon after was murdered in a tumult, and 
Arcadius was then governed by his wife Eudoxia, who 
secured the banishment of Chrysostom. 

The empire was now finally divided. A long succession 
of feeble princes reigned in the East, ruled by favorites and 
women, at whose courts the manners and customs Final divig- 
of Oriental kings were introduced. The Eastern empire. 
empire now assumes the character of an Eastern monarchy, 
and henceforth goes by the name of the Greek empire, at 
first, embracing those countries bounded by the Adriatic and 
Tigris, but gradually narrowed to the precincts of Constan- 
tinople. It lasted for one thousand years longer, before it 
was finally subdued by the Turks. The history of the 
Greek empire properly belongs to the mediaeval ages. It is 
our object to trace the final fall of the Western empire. 

Under Honorius, the Visigoths, ruled by Alaric, appear in 
history as a great and warlike people. Stilicho, 
the general of Honorius, encountered them unsuc- 
cessfully in two campaigns, in Macedonia and Thessaly, and 
the degenerate cities of Greece purchased their preservation 
at an enormous ransom. In the year 402, Alaric crossed the 
Alps, and Honorius fled to the marshes of Kavenna, where, 
protected by the shallow sea, the Western emperors a long 
time resided. Stilicho gained, however, a great Defeat of 
victory over the Goths at PoUentia, near Turin, t^«^^*^^s. 
and arrested the march of Alaric upon Rome. The defeated 
Goth rose, however, superior to this defeat, celebrated by the 
poet Claudian, as the greatest victory which Rome had ever 
achieved. He escaped with the main body of his cavalry, 
broke through the passes of the Apennines, spread devas- 
tation on the fruitful fields of Tuscany, resolved to risk 
another battle for the great prize he aimed to secure, even 
imperial Rome. But Stilicho purchased the re- 

-^ Stilicho. 

treat of the Goths by a present of forty thousand 

pounds of gold. The departure of Alaric from Italy, which 

he had ravaged, was regarded by the Roman people as a 



560 Fall of the JEmpire. [Chap. xli. 

complete and final deliverance, and they abandoned them- 
selves to absurd rejoicings and gladiatoral shows. 

But scarcely was Italy delivered from the Goths before an 
irruption of Vandals, Suevi, and Burgundians, under the 
Successive command of Rodoo^ast, or Rhadao-ast, two hundred 
irruptions, thousand in number, issued from the coast of the 
Baltic, crossed the Vistula, the Alps, and the Apennines, 
ravaged the northern cities of Italy, and laid siege to Flor- 
ence. The victor of Pollentia appeared for the rescue with 
the last army which the empire could raise, surrounded the 
enemy with strong intrenchments, and forced them to retire. 
Stilicho again delivered Italy, but one hundred thousand 
barbarians remained in arms between the Alps and the Ap- 
LossofGaui ennines, who crossed into Gaul, then the most 

to the em- . _^^ 

pire. cultivated of the Western provinces, and com- 

pletely devastated its fields, and villas, and cities. Mentz 
was destroyed ; Worms fell, after an obstinate siege ; Stras- 
burg, Spires, Rheims, Tournay, Arras, and Amiens, all fell 
under the German yoke, and Gaul was finally separated from 
the empire. The Vandals, Sueves, and Alans, passed into 
Spain, while the Burgundians remained behind, masters of 
the mountainous regions of Eastern Gaul, to which was given 
the name of Burgundy, a. d. 409. 

The troubles of the empire led to the final withdrawal of 
the legions from Britain about the time that Gaul was lost, 
and about forty years before the conquest of the island by 
the Saxons. 

Italy, for a time delivered, forgot the services of Stilicho, 
the only man capable of defending her. The jealousy of the 
timid emperor he served, and the frivolous Senate which he 
saved, removed for ever the last hope of Rome. This able 
general was assassinated at Ravenna, a. d. 408. 

The Gothic king, in his distant camp, beheld with joy the 
intrigues and factions which deprived the emperor of his 
Aiaric ad- best and last defender, and prepared for a new in- 
Eome. vasion of Italy. He descended -like an avalanche 

upon the plains of Italy, and captured the cities of Aquileia, 



Chap, xll] Siege of Borne. 561 

Concordia, and Cremona. He then ravaged the coasts of 
the Adriatic, and following the Flaminian way, crossed the 
Apennines, devastated Umbria, and reached, without ob- 
struction, the citj'- which for six hundred years had not seen 
a foreign enemy at her gates. Rome still contained within 
her walls, twenty-three miles in circuit, a vast population, 
but she had no warriors. She could boast of a long line of 
senatorial families, one thousand seven hundred and eighty 
palaces, and two million of people, together with the spoil 
of tjiie ancient world, immense riches, and innumerable works 
of art ; but where were her defenders ? It is a sad proof of 
the degeneracy of the people that they were incapable of 
defense. 

Alaric made no effort to storm the city, but quietly sat 
down, and inclosed the wretched inhabitants with a cordon 
through which nothing could force its way. He gje^e of 
cut off all communication with the country and ^"™®- 
the sea, and commanded the gates. Famine, added to pes- 
tilence, did the work of soldiers. Despair seized the haughty 
and effeminate citizens, who invoked the clemency of the 
barbarians. He derided the embassadors, and insulted them 
with rude and sarcastic jokes. " The thicker the hay, the 
easier it is mowed," replied he, when warned not to drive 
the people to despair. He condescended to spare Heavy trib- 
the lives of the people on condition that they gave on Kome. 
up all their gold and silver, all their precious movables, and 
all their slaves of barbaric birth. More moderate terms 
were afterward granted, but the victor did not retreat until 
he had loaded his wagons with precious spoil. He retired 
to the fertile fields of Tuscany, to make negotiations with 
Honorius, intrenched at Ravenna ; and it was only on the 
condition of being appointed master-general of the imperial 
army, with an annual subsidy of corn and money, Aianc mas- 
and the free possession of Dalmatia, Noricum, and *er-generai. 
Yenetia, that he consented to peace with the emperor. These 
terms were disreo-arded, and the indio:nant barbarian once 
again turned his face to the city he had spared. He took 

36 



562 Fall of the Envpire, [Chap. xli. 

possession of Ostia, and Rome was at his mercy, since her 
magazines were in his hands. Again the Senate, fearful of 
famine, consented to the demands of the conqueror. He 
nominated Atticus, prefect of the city, as emperor, and from 
him received the commission of master-general of the armies 
of the West. 

Atticus, after a brief reign, was degraded, and negotiations 
were opened with Honorius. Repelled by fresh insults, 
which can not be comprehended other than from that infatua- 
tion which is sent upon the doomed, Alaric, vindictive and 
indignant, once more set out for Rome, resolved on plunder 
and revensre. In vain did the nobles oro;anize a defense. 
Cowardice or treachery opened the Salarian gate. In the 
dead of night the Goths entered the city, which now was the 
Sack of V^'^J ^^ soldiers. For five days and five nights the 

Eome. " Eternal City " was exposed to every barbarity 

and license, and only the treasures accumulated and deposit- 
ed in the churches of St. Paul and St. Peter were saved. 
A cruel slaughter of the citizens added to the miseries of 
a sack. Forty thousand slaves were let loose upon the 
people. The matrons and women of Rome were exposed 
to every indignity. The city was given up to pillage. 
The daughters and wives of senatorial families were 
made slaves. Italian fugitives thronged the shores of 
Africa and Syria, begging daily bread. The whole world 
was filled with consternation. The news of the capture of 
Rome made the tongue of St. Jerome cleave to the roof of 
his mouth, in his cell at Bethlehem. Sorrow, misery, deso- 
lation, and despair, were everywhere. The end of the world 
was supposed to be at hand, and the great churchmen of the 
age found consolation only in the doctrine of the second 
coming of our Lord amid the clouds of heaven, a. d. 410. 

After six days the Goths evacuated the city, and advanced 
Evacuation ^^^ ^^^ Appian way, to the southern provinces of 
of Rome. Italy, desti'oying ruthlessly all who opposed their 
march, and laden with the spoil of Rome. The beautiful 
villas of the Campanian coast, where the masters of the 



Chap, xli.] Death of Alaric, 563 

world had luxuriated for centuries, were destroyed or 
plundered, and the rude Goths gave themselves up to all 
the license of barbaric soldiers. 

At length, gorged with wine and plunder, they prepared 
to invade Sicily, when Alaric sickened and died in ^^ 
Bruttium, and was buried beneath the bed of a ^i^i-ric 
river, that the place of his sepulchre should never be found 
out. He was succeeded by his brother-in-law, Adolphus, 
with whom Honorius concluded peace, and whom he created 
a general of his armies. As such, he led his forces into 
Gaul, and the southern part of the country became the seat of 
their permanent settlement, with Toulouse for a capital. The 
V^isigoths extended their conquests on both sides of the 
Pyrenees; Yandalusia was conquered by his son, Wallia, 
A. D. 418, on whom the emperor bestowed Aquitania. His 
«on, Theodoric, was the first king of the Goths. 

The same year that saw the establishment of this new 
Gothic kino;dom, also witnessed the foundation of „. ^ 

^ ' KinETflom of 

the kingdom of the Franks, by Pharamond, and ^^^ Franks. 
the final loss of Britain. Thus province after province was 
wrested away from the emperor, who died, a. d. 423, and 
was succeeded by Constantius, who had married his sister. 
He died the same year, leaving an infant, called Yalentinian. 
The chief secretary of the late emperor, John, was proclaimed 
emperor ; but he was dethroned two years after, and Yalen- 
tinian HI. six years of asje, reisfned in his stead, ^. ^ ^ 

•^ o 3 o 7 Discorns be- 

favored by the services of two able srenerals, Boni- t^^ten Boni- 

•' _ . f^ce and 

face and Aetius, who arrested by their talents the Aetius. 
incursions of the barbarians. But they quarreled, and their 
discord led to the loss of Africa, invaded by the Yandals. 

These barbarians also belonged to the great Teutonic race, 
and their settlements were on the Elbe and the Yistula. In 
the time of Marcus Aurelius they had invaded the empire, 
but were signally defeated. One hundred years later, they 
settled in Pannonia, where they had a bitter contest- 
with the Goths. Defeated by them, they sought the pro- 
tection of Rome, and enlisted in her armies. In 406 they 



564 Fall of the Empire. [Chap. xli. 

invaded Gaul, and advanced to the Pyrenees, inflicting every 
atrocity. They then crossed into Spain, and settled in 
Andalusia, a. d. 409, and resumed the agricultural life they 
had led in Pannonia. The Poman governor of Spain 
intrigued with their old enemies, the Goths, then 
settled in Gaul, to make an attack upon them, 
under Wallia. Worried and incensed, the Vandals turned 
against the Pomans, and routed them, and got possession of 
the peninsula. 

It was then that Aetius, the general of Valentinian III., 
persuaded the emperor, — or rather his mother, Placidia, the 
real ruler, — to recall Boniface from the government of 
Africa. He refused the summons, revolted, and called to his 
aid the Vandals, who had possession of Spain. They were 
„, „ , , commanded by Genseric, one of those hideous 

The Vandals . 

in Africa. monstcrs, who Combined great military talents 
with every vice. He responded to the call of Boniface, and 
invaded Africa, rich in farms and cities, whose capital, Car- 
thage, was once more the rival of Pome, and had even out- 
grown Alexandria as a commercial city. With fifty thousand 
warriors, Genseric devastated the country, and Boniface, too 
late repenting of his error, turned against the common foe, 
but was defeated, and obliged to cede to the barbarians 
three important provinces, a. d. 432. 

Peace was not of Ion 2^ duration, and the Vandals renewed 
^ „ „ ^ the war, on the retreat of Boniface to Italy, where 

Fall of Oar- ' •; ' 

thage. ]ie was killed in a duel, by Aetius. All Africa was 

overrun, and Carthage was taken and plundered, and met a 
doom as awful as Tyre and Jerusalem, for her iniquities 
were flagrant, and called to heaven for vengeance. In the 
sack of the city, the writings of Augustine, bishop of Hippo 
were fortunately preserved as a thesaurus of Christian theo- 
logical literature, the influence of which can hardly be over- 
rated in the dark period which succeeded, a. d. 439. 

The Vandals then turned their eyes to Pome, and landed 
^ , , . on the Italian coast. The last hope of the imperial 

Vandals in . . 

Italy. city, now threatened by an overwhelming force, 



Chap, xli.] Leo the Great h^^ 

was her Christian bishop— the great Leo, who hastened to 
the barbarians' camp, and in his pontifical robes, sought the 
mercy of the unrelenting and savage foe. But he could 
secure no better terms, than that the unresisting should be 
spared, the buildings protected from fire, and the captives 
from torture. But this promise was only partially fulfilled. 
The pillage lasted fourteen days and fourteen nights, and all 
that the Goths had spared was transported to the ships of 
Genseric. The statues of the old pagan gods, which adorned 
the capitol, the holy vessels of the Jewish temple, which 
Titus had brought from Jerusalem, the shrines and altars 
of the Christian churches, the costly ornaments of the 
imperial palace, the sideboards of massive silver Sack of 
from senatorial mansions, — the gold, the silver, Vandais. 
the brass, the precious marbles, — were all transported to the 
ships. The Empress Eudoxia, herself, stripped of her jewels, 
was carried away captive, with her two daughters, the sole 
survivors of the family of Theodosius. 

Such was the doom of Rome, a. d. 455, forty-five years 
after the Gothic invasion. The haughty city met r^^^ ^^^^ ^^ 
the fate wliich she had inflicted on her rivals, ^^<*°i®- 
and nothing: remained but desolation and recollections. 

While the Vandals were plundering Rome, the Huns — a 
Sclavonic race, hideous and revolting barbarians, under 
Attila, called the scouroje of God, were ravao-ino- 

. . . p , . -.T- The Huns. 

the remaining provinces of the empire. JNever 
since the days of Xerxes was there such a gathering of 
nations as now inundated the Roman world — some five hun- 
dred thousand warriors, chiefly Asiatic, armed with long 
quivers and heavy lances, cuirasses of plaited hair, scythes, 
round bucklers, and short swords. This host, composed of 
Huns,. Alans, Gepidge, and other tribes, German as well as 
Asiatic, from the plains of Sarmatia, and the banks of the 
Vistula and Niemen, extended from Bash to the mouth of 
the Rhine. The great object of attack was Orleans — an 
important strategic position. f|^ 

The leader of the imperial forces was . Otitis, banished for 



566 Fall of the Empire. [Chap. xli. 

the death of Boniface, composed of Britains, Franks, Burgun- 
„ ,,, , dians, Sueves, Saxons, and Yisisroths. It was not 

Battle of 5)5 » 

Chalons. j^qw the Romans against barbarians, but Europe 
against Asia. The contending forces met on the plains of 
Champagne, and at Chalons was fought the decisive battle 
by which Europe was delivered from Asia, and the Gothic 
nations from the Mongol races, a. d. 451. Attila was beaten, 
and Gaul was saved from Sclavonic invaders. It is said 
that three hundred thousand of the barbarians, on both sides, 
were slain. 

The discomfited king of the Huns led back his forces to 
the Rhine, ravaging the country through which he passed. 
The following year he invaded Italy. 

^tius had won one of the greatest victories of ancient 
times, and alone remained to stem the barbaric hosts. But 
he was mistrusted by the emperor at Ravenna, whose 
daughter he had solicited in marriage for his son, and was left 
without sufficient force. Aquileia, the most important city in 
ISTorthern Italy, fell into the hands of Attila. He then 
resolved to cross the Apennines and give a last blow to 
. Rome. Leo, the intrepid bishop, sought his camp, 

Italy. as he had once before entreated Genseric. The 

Hun consented to leave Italy for an annual tribute, and the 
hand of the princess Honoria, sister of the Emperor Valen- 
tinian. He retired to the Danube by the passes of the Alps, 
and spent the winter in bacchanalian orgies, but was cut off 
In his career by the poisoned dagger of a Burgundian prin- 
cess, whose relations he had slain. 

The retreat of the Huns did not deliver the wasted prov- 
inces of a now fallen empire from renewed ravages. For 
Eetrftatof twenty years longer, Italy was subject to incessant 
the Huns. depredations. Valentinian, the last emperor of 
the family of Theodosius, was assassinated a. d. 455, at the 
instigation of Maximus — a senator of the Anician family, 
The last whosc wife had been violated by the emperor, 
emperors. The successivc rcigus of Maximus, A vitus, Maj orian, 
Severus, Anthemius, Olybrius, Glycerins, !N'epos, and Angus- 



Chap, xll] Last Emj^erov of Rome, 567 

tulus — nine emperors in twenty-one years, suggest nothing 
but ignominy and misfortune. They were shut up in their 
palaces, within the w^alls of Ravenna, and were unable to 
arrest the ruin. Again, during this period, was Rome 
sacked by the Vandals. The great men of the period were 
Theodoric — king of the Ostrogoths, who ruled both sides of 
the Alps, and supported the crumbling empire, and Count 
Ricimer, a Sueve, and generalissimo of the Roman armies. 
It was at this disastrous epoch that fugitives from the Vene- 
tian territory sought a refuge among the islands which skirt 
the northern coast of the Adriatic — the haunts of fishermen 
and sea-birds. There Venice was born — to revive the glory 
of the West, and write her history upon the waves for one 
thousand years. 

The last emperor was the son of Orestes — a Pannonian, 
who was christened Romulus. When elevated by the sol- 
diers upon a shield and saluted Augustus, he was too small 
to wear the purple robe, and they called him Augustulus ! — 
a bitter mockery, recalling the foundation and the imperial 
greatness of Rome. This prince, feeble and powerless, was 
dethroned by Odoacer — chief of the Heruli, and ^^ 

•' •I'll Odoacer. 

one of the unscrupulous mercenaries whose aid the 
last emperor had invoked. The throne of the Caesars was 
now hopelessly subverted, and Odoacer portioned out the 
lands of Italy among his greedy followers, but allowed 
Augustulus to live as a pensioner in a Campanian villa, 
which had once belonged to Sulla, a. d. 476. Odoacer, 
however, reigned but fourteen years, and was supplanted by 
Theodoric, kinsj of the Ostrogoths, a. d. 490. The 

' ^ T • 1 1 T Theodoric 

barbarians were now fairly settled m the lands 

they had invaded, and the Western empire was completely 

dismembered. 

In Italy were the Ostrogoths, who established a powerful 
kingdom, afterward assailed by Belisarius and Gothic king- 
Narses, the generals of Justinian, the Eastern em- domofitaiy. 
peror, and also by the Lombards, under Alboin, who secured 
a footing in the north of Italy. Gaul was divided among 



568 , Fall of the Emjpire, [Chap. xli. 

the Franks, Burgundiaus, and Visigoths, among whom were 
Division of perpetual wars. Britain was possessed by the 
the empire gaxons. Spain became the inheritance of Vandals, 

among bar- -L ' 

barians. Sucvi, and Visigoths. The Vandals retained 
Africa. The Eastern empire, with the exception of Constan- 
tinople, finally fell into the hands of the Saracens. 

It would be interesting to trace the various fortunes of the 
Eeflections Tcutonic uations in their new settlements, but this 
the empire, bclougs to mediaeval history. The real drama of 
the fall of Rome was ended when Alaric gained possession 
of the imperial city. " The empire fell," says Guizot, ", be- 
cause no one would belong to it." At the period of barbaric 
invasion it had lost all real vigor, and was kept together by 
mechanism — the mechanism of government which had been 
one thousand years perfecting. It was energy, patriotism, 
patience, and a genius for government which built up the 
emjDire. But prosperity led to luxury, self-exaggeration, and 
enervating vices. Society was steeped in sensuality, frivolity, 
and selfishness. The empire was rotten to the core, and must 
become the prey of barbarians, who had courage and vitality. 
Three centuries earlier, the empire might have withstood the 
shock of external enemies, and the barbarians might have 
been annihilated. But they invaded the provinces when 
central power was weak, when public virtue had fled, when 
the middle classes were extinct, when slavery, demoralizing 
pleasures, and disproportionate fortunes destroyed elevation 
of sentiment, and all manly energies. A noble line of martial 
emperors for a time arrested ruin, but ruin was inevitable. 
Natural law asserted its dignity. The penalty of sin must 
be paid. N^othing could save the empire. No conservative 
influences were sufficiently strong — neither literature, nor 
art, nor science, nor philosophy, nor even Christianity. 
Society retrograded as the new religion triumphed, a mys- 
terious fact, but easily understood when we remember that 
vices were universal before a remedy could be applied. The 
victories of Christianity came not too late for the human 
race, but too late for the salvation of a worn-out empire. 



Chap, xn.] Conclusion, 569 

The barbarians were advancing when Constantine was con- 
verted. The salvation of the race was through these bar- 
barians themselves, for, though they desolated, they recon- 
structed ; and, when converted to the new faith, established 
new institutions on a better basis. The glimmering life-sparks 
of a declining and miserable world disappeared, but new 
ideas, new passions, new interests arose, and on the ruins of 
the pagan civilization new Christian empires were founded, 
which have been gaining power for one thousand five hun- 
dred years, and which may not pass away till civilization 
itself shall be pronounced a failure in the present dispensar 
tions of the Moral Governor of the World, 



THE END. 



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